Fairy Tail Redux: Salamander's Time Traveling Escapades
by FoxOnPie
Summary: When Zeref kills all of Natsu's friends for failing to kill him, he gets sent back in time to X782 to try and get strong enough to change things. But besides the challenge of protecting his friends, Natsu will come face-to-face with an even tougher challenge: discovering just who in the world he is. This is an Alternate Universe, so any divergences from canon are because of that.
1. Let's do the Time Warp Again

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

We open with a beautiful morning on Tenrou Island, Fairy Tail's private island. The birds are singing, the animals are frolicking, the dead bodies of Fairy Tail's core members were littered everywhere; it was heaven. ...Perhaps an explanation is in order here.

* * *

You see, after defeating Grimoire Heart, the Black Mage Zeref appeared in front of Natsu and challenged him to a fight in an attempt to be killed by him. Natsu, however, wasn't strong enough to do this, so in an attempt to push him past his limits, Zeref used his Death Magic to kill off Natsu's friends one by one until none were left alive; this is a rather rare example of that _not _working.

* * *

The current scene has us looking at Zeref looking at a facedown Natsu with a near deadpan expression.

"...Natsu..." Zeref started, "I doubt that you're alive, but if you are, listen to this: the only one to blame for this is you. A long time ago, you told me that you would kill me... that you would prove to me that this world still deserves the right to exist. Ever since then, I've lived in silence, awaiting the day when the two of us would see how much merit your promise held.  
"When you defeated Grimoire Heart and came out of what seemed like a hopeless situation, I foolishly believed you had gained the strength of 'heart' to finish me... if I am to have any blame for this, it would be that. You weren't ready yet, and now... you don't even have the chance to be," he then turned his back to Natsu. "With this, Earth Land has no more reason to exist. Soon, it shall be completely destroyed by my hands..." This last sentence was said with incredible sorrow for an unknown reason. The Black Mage then started to walk away, but before he could take two steps, a hand grabbed at his leg.

"...So I didn't kill you..." Zeref said, slowly turning his head, "...Natsu..." On the ground, Natsu was holding onto Zeref's leg as if his life depended on it and was giving him a face of complete rage.

_"You bastard!"_ Natsu thought to himself. _"You think that you can kill my friends, my family, say you're gonna destroy the world, and just walk away from me?!" ...is what I wanna say, but I don't even have the strength to say all that..._

"Those eyes... even though all is clearly lost, you can still have eyes like those. Eyes that shun the idea of 'hate' and can only believe in 'light' and 'love.' It's just like that day all over again, around the end of the civil war," a mass of black energy then appeared around Zeref's right hand, and, at the same time, he started crying. "It's so sad..." He pointed his hand directly at Natsu.

_I guess this is it..._ Natsu's expression lost all of its anger. _See you guys soon, then..._ The black energy was then fired as a beam, but instead of killing Natsu like he thought it would, it completely enveloped him.

"It's so sad... and yet, it's something I can't ignore."

"W-what...?" was all Natsu managed to say.

"This is your third chance to uphold your promise... to prove to me that you've been right this whole time." At this point, Natsu's vision began to decrease tremendously. "Use it wisely, for I won't give you a fourth." Now everything for Natsu was completely black.

* * *

"Gah!" Natsu yelled.

"Do you have to yell so early in the morning?" A familiar voice said. Natsu immediately turned to the voice's direction to see none other than his pal, Happy.

"Happy? Is... is that you?"

"Am I supposed to be someone else?"

_Happy's alive?_ _But I thought..._ Natsu then surveyed his surroundings and found that not only was he not on the island, he was in bed at his house. _It was just a dream...?_ Natsu exhaled. "Thank God."

"It's not Sunday."

"Whatever," Natsu jumped out of bed with extreme glee thanks to his realisation. "Let's head to the guild and see if Lucy's there yet."

"Aye! Wait... who's Lucy?" Happy's question sent a chill through Natsu's entire body.

"You're... you're kidding, right? Lucy's our friend, remember?"

"Sorry Natsu," Happy said, shaking his head, "but I'm pretty sure there's no one in the guild named 'Lucy.'"

"But that's impo- ...wait..." Natsu ran towards the nearest window and looked outside. "What's with all this grass and stuff?! Wasn't the town covered in snow just the other day?!"

"Snow? In July?"

"July?!" Natsu exclaimed, now facing the blue cat. "It's supposed to be December!"

"Are you feeling alright, Natsu, 'cause you're really freaking me out."

_This isn't right!_ Natsu thought to himself with a sweat drop. _Happy doesn't know Lucy, it's not December... and now that I think about it, Happy looks a little smaller than before, and from my reflection in the window, I look a bit shorter. How can any of this be?! Unless..._ "Happy, you said that the name 'Lucy' doesn't mean anything to you, right? What about 'Jellal' or the word 'Exceed?' Do they mean anything"

"No," Happy responded with a confused look.

"We're getting ready for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial next week, right?"

"'Next week?' That's not for another five months," Happy responded with an even more confused look.

"And Lisanna... she's still in the guild, right?" At that question, Happy hung his head down.

"Natsu..." Happy started, "Lisanna... she died months ago, remember?" Natsu fell to the ground when he heard this.

_So it's true,_ Natsu thought to himself. _I didn't wanna believe it, but it's true. I've... I've been sent back in time by Zeref..._ That was the last thing Natsu thought before fainting.


	2. Heritage from the Future for the Future

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Where we last left off, Natsu, after failing to defeat Zeref, was sent back in time to July of X782. Upon realising this, he fainted, unable to immediately cope with the discovery.  
A few hours after this, Natsu slowly awoke and found himself, once again, in a place different than the last one he was at.

"...Unfamiliar ceiling..." Natsu said, apparently looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.

"That's an odd thing to say when you wake up," a voice said startling Natsu. He turned to see where it came from and found the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar, sitting in a chair next to him.

"Old man... where are we?"

"Just the guild hall's infirmary. Happy came flying through the window crying that you fainted after he said 'something.'"

"Ah..."

"...Listen, Natsu, I know how hard it is to lose a friend, or for you, someone even closer than that... but people die; that is an undeniable, unchangeable fact. I'm not going to tell you to just simply accept this, but you do need to do it at some point."

_No..._ Natsu thought, _that's wrong, old man. I didn't faint because of _just _Lisanna dying... I fainted because of _everyone _dying!_

"I'll leave you to your thoughts..." The old master said as he got up and headed to the door.

_No... don't leave... don't leave thinking something different from reality!_ "Stop!" Makarov turned his head to Natsu. "You're wrong. I'm not upset about Lisanna."

"Lying to me _and _yourself won't do anyone any go-"

"IT"S NOT A LIE!" The old man was taken back by this outburst. "Lisanna's death, just _her _death isn't upsetting me. What's really getting at me... is _everyone's _death..."

"..." Makarov then walked back to the chair he was just in. "It seems like you have something to say, so don't hold back."

* * *

So Natsu told Makarov everything that had happened. About Grimoire Heart; about Zeref killing everyone there; about said mage sending Natsu back in time; everything. Well, not really "everything;" he left out all the stuff that didn't have relevance towards the main point, like the names of everyone there and the identity of Grimoire Heart's master(the latter because it would just upset the old man).

"Though, now that I think about it," Natsu said, "since I'm not as old as I was when it happened, I wasn't sent back in time so much as my memories were transferred to my younger self. From there, everything I've done has been different, meaning we're now in an alternate timeline." Makarov's face looked as if it were made of stone. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Natsu," he started, "you're a hot-headed, gluttonous moron who causes destruction nearly every second you're awake..."

"Buuuuuuuuuuut..."

"Oh, right! And you're a pain in the butt!" This caused Natsu to facepalm. "But you're far from being a liar, so I believe your story."

"Thanks," Natsu said with a slight smile.

"Now the only thing to do is figure out what we should do."

"Not 'we,' 'I.'"

"?! Are you saying that you want to handle this alone?!"

"Not only that, but also that I have to!" The room then started to get really hot, a clear sign of Natsu's rage. "Zeref killed everyone because I was too weak to kill him, so all that matters is how strong _I _end up becoming. I don't know why he's fixated on me ending his life, but I'll use these two years to make sure I can grant his wish and avoid such a tragedy!" The room then cooled down, indicating that Natsu's rage had subsided.

"When you say it like that, it makes sense, but how do you plan on doing it?"

"I don't know, but I think I have to leave town, or going even further, the country, in order to do it. If I stay here, I'll just end up doing everything I did in the first timeline, and only get that strong. Problem is, I don't where to go."

"...I know!" Makarov said while simultaneously snapping his fingers. "You can go to Mildea!"

"'Mildea?' Wait, Mildea?! As in, the legendary city of magic, Mildea?!"

"The very one! Normally, they don't train outsiders, but I have an old friend there who could definitely pull some strings for you."

"Awesome!" Natsu exclaimed, jumping right out of bed. "All the best mages in the world are said to have some connection to Mildea. If I can get training there, I'll be unstoppable; I'm so fired up!"

_It's nice to see that he's cheered up, but I hope he hasn't forgotten the reason he'll be going there._ As Makarov thought this, Natsu ran straight out the door, saying something about being able to finally kick Laxus' ass, but stopped when he felt the door hit something upon opening it.

"What the heck?" He walked around the door to find that it had collided with the flying cat Happy. "Happy?!"

"Happy?" Makarov asked as he left the room as well. "What are you doing here."

"Well..." Happy started, "I came to check up on Natsu, but then I heard him yell 'IT'S NOT A LIE!', so I stayed outside the room and kinda, maybe, very possibly, might've heard all the stuff you were talking about."

"Is that right?" Natsu asked. "You must be pretty freaked out after hearing all of that."

"Not at all! After all, if anyone can make sure we all reach a 'Happy End,' it's you, Natsu!" The cat's large belief gave Natsu a big smile. "But you know, I sure am gonna feel lonely without you here... for two years... while you're off at Mildea..."

"Go pack your stuff, Happy."

"Aye, sir!"

* * *

"Hey old man, you seen Natsu anywhere?" Gray asked the master the next day.

"No one's seen him, and by extension, Happy, all day," Erza added. "Usually I've already been challenged to a fight by now; if I don't find him soon, I'll have to give his beating to Gray."

"What's that now?"

"Oh yes, Natsu, and by extension, Happy," Makarov said. "I was planning on telling everyone later today, but you two can pass it along. Those two have left the country for training and won't be back for approximately two years."

"Gasp!" Gray gasped. "Leaving the country is crazy enough, but why so long?!"

"Is it that strange, Gray?" Erza asked. "Natsu took Lisanna's death harder than even her own family; this must be his attempt of getting away from things and atoning for his weakness."

_It might be cruel to think this, but Lisanna dying sure made for a convenient excuse. _Makarov thought to himself.

"But where did they go to, Master?"

"The city of magic, Mildea."

"What?!" Gray and Erza shouted in unison.

"Natsu said he wanted to get as strong as possible, so I used my connections to set him up there."

"But... that's not fair!" Gray exclaimed, filled with rage.

"He thinks he can just run off and take a level in badass offscreen, or something?!" Erza yelled, also filled with rage.

"...Yes." The old mage responded in a deadpan manner. The two of them then stormed off, muttering some profanity. Then, a few seconds later, word of Natsu and Happy's training journey reached everyone's ears, causing all of the younger mages to erupt with anger.  
Meanwhile, in Hargeon...

* * *

"Hmmm..." Happy said to himself.

"Whatcha 'hmmm'ing about?" Natsu asked.

"I have the strangest feeling that everyone in Fairy Tail was reacting more to your leaving than mine."

"Well you are just a cat."

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding(to some degree)! Let's just find the boat to Mildea; I'd like to get there by dinner."

"You do know that it takes three days to get to Mildea by boat, right?"

"...What?" Natsu responded, remembering his motion sickness.

"Not to be rude, but it sucks to be you right now."

"…Dammit."

* * *

Three days later, the boat arrived at Delhalia port, and Happy was dragging his sick friend off by his hair and across the ground.

"I hate... everything..." Natsu said, his face green with sickness.

"A little sick, are you?" Someone asked. "You must be the boy Dreyar sent over." Natsu and Happy then turned(Natsu turning weakly) to face the person talking. It was a short, old person with a white mustache wearing a spherical hat with red stripes. He also wore black, pointed shoes, a dark blue coat, and held a brown, wooden staff. "And you must be his pet."

"'Pet?!'" Happy exclaimed.

"My name is Miltz XV, the current chief of Mildea. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"My name's Natsu," our pink-haired protagonist said, finally getting up. "This is my pal, Happy."

"Well, Natsu-kun, Happy-kun, I feel obligated to tell the two of you that you're both incredibly weak! In hindsight, though, that should go without saying for the cat."

_Everyone's so mean to me... _Happy thought with a sulk.

"Yeah, I know..." Natsu started, "but that's why I came here; to make sure no one can call me 'weak,' and so I can protect the people I care about!"

"Nfufufu! You sound just like those kids the first Miltz helped out over 700 years ago. Well, come along, you two! We got a long walk to Mildea!"

"Yes! Walking!" The three of them then headed away from the port and towards the road. _This might be odd, but thank you, Zeref. I'll be using the chance I've inherited from the future to make sure everyone _has _a future, so wait on that island 'till the day I kick your ass!_And before anyone knew it, nearly two years passed, bringing us to June 28th., X784.

* * *

"Do you really have to go, Natsu-kun?" Miltz asked Natsu in the Dragon Slayer's apartment.

"Sorry, Miltz-jii, but I gotta go," he said to the old man, "the boat to Hargeon runs only every two weeks, so if I miss this one, I won't get there until after the 1st. of July."

"Right, and you have to meet that girl in order to maintain consistency for the timeline," in the time Natsu and Happy spent there, Natsu had told Miltz all about his real reason for coming, so the old man knew that if Natsu didn't leave, he wouldn't meet Lucy, and they would all be set off onto another tangent.

"It's just that... you've only been here for two years; that's not even enough time to earn your mark. Not only that, but..."

"It'll be alright, Miltz-san!" Happy said to him.

"Yeah!" Natsu added. "I might not have a mark on my face to remember this place, but it's left a mark somewhere much more precious." He and Happy pointed at their chests with their thumbs. "Right here!"

"BWAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Miltz cried, large amounts of tears and snot flowing.

"I think that's our cue to leave, Happy."

"Aye."

"Fine, go! Just get out, you big, dumb animal! BWAAAAAAHHH!" Natsu and Happy then left the building only to come face-to-face with a large mass of people.

"Well, we'll be seeing you all." The two of them cut through the crowd and headed to the outskirts of the city only to have their ears met with large amounts of crying.

"Don't go, Natsu!"

"You never taught me how to fly, Happy-sama!"

"Who's gonna help me get rid of hobos messing with business with you two gone?!"

"You owe me 9,000 Jewels, you bastards!" More things were said, but the two of them had already gotten too far away to hear them.

"I'm gonna miss those guys," Happy said, a tear rolling down his face.

"Me too," Natsu said, also crying a bit. In these two years, Natsu and Happy had grown very close to the people of Mildea. They laughed together, ate together, fought together; the citizens of Mildea had become a second Fairy Tail for these two.

* * *

"Halt, you two!" boomed a voice as Natsu and Happy were on the road to the port. Directly in front of them stood a squad of Rune Knights, with a short-haired man with three scars and a red jacket leading the pack.

"Intelligence officer Doranbolt..." Natsu said as he walked right in front of him. The two mages simply stared at each other for a few seconds before raising their fists... and bumping them. "I thought we said goodbye a few days ago!"

"Did we? I must've been too drunk to remember." The two men then had a merry laugh that was soon joined by Happy and the rest of the Knights.  
You see, a few months after coming to Mildea, Natsu had gone outside the city for his training when he spotted Doranbolt and his troops being attacked by mages from a nearby Dark Guild. Natsu, being the heroic guy he is, saved them, and ever since then, he and Happy had been good friends with Doranbolt and the Knights of the area.  
After their exchange ended, the Rune Knights moved to the side and allowed Natsu and Happy to keep moving.

"See you two later! If you see Lahar in Fiore, tell him I said 'Hi!'"

"Aye!" Happy replied. Natsu just gave him a silent thumbs up.

_Everyone, I'm comin' back, _Natsu thought to himself. _This time, things'll be different. Gray... Erza... Lucy... everyone's getting their 'Happy End' when this story's done; just you wait!_ With that, our hero and his cat arrived at the boat to Hargeon which, in three days, would allow the wheels of fate to spin in a direction not so much the same as before.


	3. Boys Came Back to Them

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

It is now July 2nd., X784. In the middle of Hargeon, a mage by the name of Bora, under the alias of "Salamander," was using illegal magic Charm to hypnotize women in order to sell them as slaves to Bosco. As a certain blond mage was about to be fully spellbound, the process was interrupted when a pink-haired mage and his cat cut through the crowd, followed by the man calmly saying, "Hey."

"Yes?" Bora asked him. "How can I-" But before Bora could finish that thought, the man tossed Bora vertically into the air and knocked him away from the crowd with a Flying Leg Lariat. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" As that was finished being said, the end of a staff came down onto his right index finger, shattering the Charm ring and breaking the spell on everyone affected. When Bora turned to see who did this, he saw himself face-to-face with a baker's dozen Rune Knights.

"Bora of Prominence," one of the Knights said, "you are under arrest for the usage of illegal magic and attempted slave trade." "Hiiiiiii~!" was all Bora responded with before being handcuffed.

"Thanks for the tipoff, Dragneel-san," another Knight said. "Who knows how bad things could've been without the help."

"Anytime, guys!" Natsu said back to him as the Knights carried Bora off and the crowd dispersed.

"Hey, excuse me," a young girl asked Natsu, "but are you Dragneel, as in _Natsu_ Dragneel?"

"Indeed I am," he responded as he turned to face her. "I'm guessing you've heard of me."

"Who hasn't?! You're the Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail who received special training in Mildea and has been helping out the Council across the sea!"

"He also likes white wine and long walks across the beach," Happy added.

"A talking cat?!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes practically shooting out of her head. "How weird! There aren't even sentinoid's like that!"

"Is my existence that unbelievable?" Happy asked with a sweat drop.

"No matter what kind of world it is, there'll be things people will always label as fictitious, Happy;" Natsu said, "in most cases, like this one, it's the notion of talking cats."

"I don't like it!"

"I don't care."

"ANYWAY!" the girl said, turning their attention back to her. "Since you're in Fairy Tail, I was wondering if you could help me get into the guild."

"I'll go there with you, but you don't need a recommendation or anything like that."

"Aye! At Fairy Tail, we accept all kinds of people! Strippers, playboys, drunks, womanizers..."

"Stalkers, lolis, people who should be dead, but aren't, and even people who try to commit murder."

_Murder?!_ the girl thought to herself.

"Who fits your descriptions, Natsu?"

"You'll see, Happy," Natsu then gave him a wink, followed by the cat doing the same. "So you comin' or what, Konata?"

"My name's Lucy, actually, and you bet!" _Even if that "murder" thing _is _making me have second thoughts._

"Alright, then! Let's... actually, I gotta take care of something before I head back; you mind coming with Happy and me somewhere?"

"Not at all! Where are we going?"

"Mt. Hakobe."

"...Can I buy a jacket before that?" Lucy asked with a sweat drop and shiver.

"Take your time!" With that, Lucy ran off to a nearby clothing store to prepare herself for the cold mountain.

"So that's Lucy, eh?" Happy asked his friend when she had gotten out of earshot.

"Yup. Whatcha think of her?"

"She seems nice!"

"You bet she is!"

"But she also seems like she'd get annoyed easily."

"Ain't that the truth?!"

* * *

Two day later, in Magnolia, the Fairy Tail guild was surprisingly silent as many of its members had their backs pressed against the wall as they peered at the door.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Gray said in a whisper. "Natsu sent a letter saying that he'd be back today, so as soon as he walks through that door, we all jump his fiery ass!"

"That'll show him who's boss!" Cana added.

"In a situation like this, sneak attacks are definitely manly!" Elfman exclaimed.

"Being able to beat up Natsu again will make coming back early from my Job totally worth it!" Erza said.

"Should we be letting them do this, Master?" Mira asked.

"Why not? It'll at least be fun for us!" Makarov said with a laugh. After that the door to the guild slowly began to open, and as soon as was halfway open, everyone at the door attacked the person opening the door with enough force to send said person flying into a building across the street.

"Welcome home, Natsu!" Gray shouted with a smirk.

"Hope you like your prese-... wait a minute, something feels off," Erza said. She then Requipped a collapsible telescope and looked in the direction the person went flying in. "That wasn't Natsu... that was Macao!"

"WHAT?!" The guild shouted in unison, except for Romeo, who was the only one to run to him and see if he was, you know, _alive_ and stuff.

"That doesn't make sense," Gray said. "Why were we attacking Macao?"

"Yes. Why _were_ you attacking Macao?" a voice from the bar said. When everyone turned to see who it was, they saw Natsu drinking a Jose Cuervo alongside Lucy and Happy.

"Natsu?! How did you-"

"Came in the back. After saving Macao at Mt. Hakobe, which I knew had to be done on account of men's intuition, I sensed all you guys at the door. Knowing you'd try something funny, I told Macao to go in the front while Happy, Lucy and I were gonna go in through the back entrance and surprise everyone. By the way, this girl's name is Lucy."

"Hello!" she said to everyone.

"Well, despite you robbing us of our fun, it's great to have you back, Natsu!" Erza said.

"Is it also great to have me back?" Happy asked.

"...You left?" everyone asked unanimously.

"You guys suck!"

"I'm alive, by the way..." Macao said, stumbling back into the guild, "not that anyone cares..."

"You're right about that!" Everyone, sans Lucy, yelled.

* * *

"So, Lucy, Mira set you up?" Natsu asked about an hour later.

"Yep!" She said, showing off the pink blazon on her hand. "You're now looking at Fairy Tail's newest mage!"

"Yay!" Mira exclaimed with simultaneous clapping. When it became apparent that no one else was clapping, however, she stopped.

"Anyway... it was nice meeting you all, but I gotta go find an apartment before the sun goes down."

"Okay. See you later, Lucy!" Happy said.

"Yeah, see ya..." Natsu started before taking a pause, "wait a minute, Lucy, you don't need to do that. You can just get a room at Fairy Hills."

"'Fairy Hills?'"

"It's the guild's female dormitory," Mira said. "It's just a few minutes away, and rent is only 10,000 Jewels a month."

"Really? That's so cheap! I could probably cover that with just one Job!"

"It really is convenient. I wonder why I forgot to tell you about it? I always remember to tell the new girls, but it just completely slipped my mind with you!"

_Mira-san's a lot ditzier than I thought she'd be..._ Lucy thought to herself. "Well, thanks for the heads up, Natsu!" she said as she headed to the exit.

"No prob!" _I'm gonna miss consistently breaking into Lucy's apartment, but this way, she won't always get mad at me for always "taking" her rent money when I break stuff. Besides, I can always just sneak into the dorm! Hihihi!_

* * *

That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Natsu met with Makarov outside the guild.

"So, Natsu," he started, "how did your training go?"

"Well," Natsu said, "I'm definitely stronger than I was at this point in the first timeline, but I won't know how much until I have a real fight."

"Wanna try fighting me?"

"I don't have a death wish, old man," the two of them laughed at this. "Hey, do you really not wanna hear about everything's that's gonna happen between now and December? Happy didn't want to hear major stuff because he 'doesn't like spoilers,' but some important stuff is gonna happen to you, especially on a personal level..." when Natsu said this, he was remembering two things that had greatly affected Makarov: Laxus getting kicked out of the guild, and Grimoire Heart's Hades being revealed to be the second master of Fairy Tail, Purehito.

"When you get to be my age, there's usually just one surprise left in life; things will be more interesting if I'm left not knowing."

"In other words, you don't want spoilers, either?"

"Bingo! But, more importantly, I know that whatever challenges we may face, we'll get through them all, no matter what; since that's true, what's the point in knowing about something we know we'll come out on top of?"

"Yeah... but remember, when 'that day' comes, I'm the only one who can do something!" Natsu turned away from the old man and walked towards his house.

"Yes, and I have the utmost faith that you will be able to."

* * *

**I thought about extending this into Lullaby, but that would've taken a while to write, and I'm lazy. Anywho, to everyone who's read this so far, thanks for the support! Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	4. A Strange Summer?

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"That really stunk, Natsu!" Lucy whined one afternoon in the guild hall.

"You're overreacting," he said back to her.

"I am _not!_I cosplayed as a maid, was called 'ugly' by a retarded duke, and after all that, we didn't even get paid!"

"The Job was to 'burn' the book, not 'deliver' it; us Fairy Tail mages don't get paid unless we do it right. Besides, at least _you _didn't walk away empty-handed, Ms. 'I got myself a new golden gate key!'"

"Stop being so greedy, Lucy!" Happy said.

"...Fine." With the conversation over, Lucy proceeded to eat a chocolate cornet, Happy a yellowtail, and Natsu some chicken(set ablaze) with a Jose Cuervo to drink. "Is that all you drink?"

"Only during the hot, summer months; it's much better than hot tea." Not understanding that last part, Lucy returned to her snack a few moments before the three of them were interrupted before a slightly draconian girl appeared to say, "Natsu, Happy, Lucy."

"Oh, hey Erza!" Lucy said, putting her food down. "What's up?"

"I need you three to help me with something important."

"Even me?!" Happy asked, his eyes sparkling at the thought that his presence could matter on a Job.

"Um... yes." _I don't have the heart to tell him that I basically assumed he'd come since Natsu is. Oh, wait, he hasn't agreed yet._

"Yeah, alright," Natsu said.

"Natsu, I don't want to force you, but this is impo- ...what did you say?"

"I said, 'Yeah, alright.' Is that so weird?"

"Well... yes, actually," she responded with a sweat drop. "I don't remember you _ever _doing something for me by choice..."  
"Maybe that's how the 'old' Natsu operated, but this is a new 'Summer,' Erza(A/N "Natsu" means "Summer."); get ready for it," Natsu then polished off the rest of his meal and headed out the door with Happy following suit.

"Well then... should we go now, Lucy?"

"When did I agree to this?!"

* * *

_Man, what's taking Erza so long? _Gray thought to himself at Magnolia Station. _I've been waiting here for almost half an hour! Of course, maybe that's not _too _bad... wait, why do I think that? Do I honestly think that when she shows up and apologises for being late, I can cooly say, "Being able to see you makes it alright," or something like that, causing her to blush? After that, we get on the train, beat up whoever we're beating up, and end the day with dinner at a fancy restaurant, me walking her home, then leaning in for a long sought after..._Gray then proceeded to punch himself, attracting the attention of a multitude of people.

_Focus, Gray, focus! This is not a date, no matter how much you'd like it to be! _As Gray was busy dealing with his hormones, a voice uttering the lines, "Sorry for making you wait," caught his attention. _Okay, I gotta take this chance!_But before he could say anything lame, he lost the urge to do so completely when he saw that Erza wasn't alone.

"Hey! What are _they _doing here?!"

"I asked them to help."

"We don't need their help for this!"

"Well, I guess we _could_ leave, but I _really _don't wanna; sorry!" Natsu said, taunting the ice mage a tad.

"Whatever," The train heading for Onibas station pulled up. "The train's here now, so let's just get it over with!" _Damn! My dreams of being alone with Erza have been shattered. _Gray and Erza then headed for the train with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy right behind them.

"Why's Gray so mad that we're here?" Lucy asked.

"Beats me," Happy responded.

"Well, if you ask me," Natsu said with a gleam in his eyes, "it's because of that giant crush he's had on Erza ever since we were-" our protagonist, however, was cut off by a block of ice colliding with his face.

"What did Natsu say?" Erza asked Gray.

"Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING!"

"No, he said something with a 'C' in it. ...'Crash?'"(A/N: "Crush" and "Crash" use the same characters in Japanese.)

"...Yes... Natsu was talking about Shanks' Crash Magic."

"You mean Gildarts' Crash Magic?"

"Let's just go!" And go, they did! Natsu knew everything that would happen as they went to deal with the Eisenwald guild, and was ready to do something in a cool fashion, but...

* * *

_I HATE TRAINS!_ he thought to himself as he stayed on the train past Onibas, looking absolutely pathetic due to his motion sickness. _I know I needed to stay here for stuff, but trains still suck! I hate them almost as much as a green-haired girl hates floors!_

"Sir, is this seat taken?" Someone asked Natsu.

_Hey, look, the deer guy. Wait, am I thinking of someone else when I say "deer?"_

"My, my, my... you seem to be in pain. Are you okay?"

_Sure, go ahead, sit down and start talking to me for no reason; that's not _annoying _or anything! ...And now his foot's in my face; fantuckingfastic. God, I wanna punch this guy! I wish I was a Sky Dragon Slayer like Wendy, 'cause then I could just use "Troia" on myself and not deal with motion sickness anymore. Though, there's a chance that that could count as healing, meaning it wouldn't work on myself. Will this guy shut up about flies, already?! When's this train supposed to stop, anyway?_ The train then stopped moving. _Thank god!_Natsu then proceeded to punch Kageyama with a fiery fist and send him flying.

"Can't forget this now," Natsu said as he picked up the Lullaby that had fallen out of Kageyama's bag. "Wasn't he supposed to say, 'B-Bastard,' or something like that now?" He looked in the direction Kageyama flew only to discover that his opponent had lost consciousness. "...Didn't know I got _that _tough..."

"We've confirmed that the emergency break was due to a false report," the intercom spat out. "We'll depart shortly. We apologize for your inconvenience."

"Well, can't let them do _that, _now can I?" Natsu then ran to where the conductor was and, seconds before the train started, stopped him from starting it.

"Excuse me, sir," Natsu said, his politeness being very creepy, "I need to make an important call right now, and this train moving will make that _very _hard to do. Could you ever so kindly keep it stopped for, like, five minutes?"

* * *

"Man, what is _taking _so long?" Erigor asked as he and the other dark mages waited for the train at Kunugi Station. "Shouldn't that train have been here by now? ...Maybe it's just running late; can't be _too _impatient." Three seconds later... "Fuck it, I'm goin' there myself!" He then proceeded to fly into the air and towards Onibas to meet up with the train... at least, he would've, if he didn't fly straight into an invisible barrier surrounding him and all the other Eisenwald members. "What the?!"

"I was waiting for you to notice my Jutsu Shiki," a voice from behind said.

"Who are you?" Erigor asked, turning to see a bespectacled man and a large number of Rune Knights.

"My name is Lahar, Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit. Thanks to an anonymous accomplice, we were able to learn of your plan to assassinate the guild masters using Lullaby, and that you would be meeting a man carrying said magic here. I set this up so that you all wouldn't be able to leave, and now that our accomplice has taken care of things with the deliverer, we can move on to the arrest."

"Like hell!" Erigor then released a giant blast of wind from his scythe at the barrier, though only a few cracks were made.

"That's some magic you have there; Jutsu Shiki can only be destroyed by incredibly powerful magic, so leaving you alone like this isn't the best course of action. Release the 'MNS!'" At Lahar's command, the Rune Knights began throwing grenade-like objects into the barrier that released a gray smoke upon contact with the ground.

"As if that'll stop the great Erigor-sama!" He prepared to fire another blast of wind, but he and the other mages suddenly fell to the ground. "Wh-what the hell?! What's going on?!"

"'Magic Neutralization Smoke,' or 'MNS' for short, is a magic item created by the Bureau of Magical Development two years ago. The smoke released by those objects makes anyone who inhales it lose the majority of their magic and temporarily stops Ethernano in the atmosphere from flowing into them," The Rune Knights then marched into the barrier to arrest the dark mages, "Looks like you won't be controlling life and death anytime soon, 'Shinigami.'"

* * *

"So then Zhang says, 'You my Wang, G?'" Lucy said as she, Happy, Gray, and Erza were trying to catch up to Natsu in their "Magic Four Wheel Vehicle." "Wang responds with, 'Yes, I am Colonel Wang,' and after that, Zhang says, 'Can I touch you?'"

"What are you doing, Lucy?" Gray asked, doing a small facepalm.

"Just trying to lighten the mood."

"If it's a joke like that, please don't."

"Erza thought it was funny." Gray and Happy then turned to see the driver laughing hysterically.

"Hahahahahaha! It's funny because 'wang' means 'penis'! You are too good, Lucy! Hahahahahaha!"

"Keep your eyes on the road, Erza!" Happy shouted. "You're about to run over Natsu!"

"Hahahaha- what's that now?" The four of them then saw Natsu with Shikamaru(Kageyama) lying on the ground as he looked up at the sky and mentioned that some of the clouds looked like birds and such.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" the four of them shouted in unison.

"Hm?" Natsu muttered as he saw the "Vehicle." When it got close enough, he stuck his hand out, causing the "Vehicle" to collide with it, stop and fling all of them into the air before gravity caught up with them. "It's raining friends! Hallelujah! It's raining friends!" We now fast forward a minute...

* * *

"That ninja had the Lullaby in his possession?!" Erza exclaimed.

"He sure did," Natsu said. "Good thing you guys forgot to get me off the train before, or who knows _what _we'd be dealing with!"

"Nice job, Natsu!" Lucy said.

"Aye!" Happy added.

"Y-you flies think you're tough, don't you?" Kageyama asked, apparently regaining consciousness. "Erigor-san and the others are gonna figure out that something happened, and when they do-" he probably would've said more, but was interrupted by something going, "_Hashiridashita omoi ga ima demo Kono mune wo tashika ni tataiteru kara."_

"Oh, that's me. Gotta take this." Natsu said as he held his right hand out in the air for a few seconds before a small, red Lacrima appeared in his hand.

"You can Requip?" Erza asked.

"Just in its basic form."

"And what is _that?_" Gray asked.

"Isn't that a Mini Communications Lacrima?" Lucy asked.

"Yup."

"They're like regular ones, but smaller and come with tons of features!" Happy said. "They're still catching on around here, but everyone has them in Mildea!"

_So want..._Gray and Erza thought simultaneously. While they both mentally drooled over the item, Lahar's face appeared on it.

"I'm betting the arrest went off without a hitch?" Natsu asked him.

"You'd win that bet, Natsu. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime! We'll just bring this guy over to Kunugi Station, and you can take care of-"

"Wait a minute!" Gray interjected.

"What's up?"

"Don't 'What's up?' me! Why're you helping out guys from the Council?!"

"We're friends."

"Aye!" Happy pointlessly added.

"'Friends?!'"

"You did hear about me working with them while I was abroad, right?"

"We always assumed those instances were just coincidences," Erza said with a sweat drop. "The Natsu _we_know would never help out the Magic Council."

"I told you, Erza, this is a new 'Summer.' This 'Summer' a little more mature than the last, and maybe you guys should follow suit."

"...Excuse me?"

"During these last two years, I came to realise just how much of a pain the Council thinks we are. Everyday, they do everything in their power to maintain peace throughout all of Earth Land, and we don't make that any easier by causing property damage in the thousands, sometimes millions, whenever we leave the guild hall. They might be a _little_ annoying, but if we could just act like _adults,_they'd give us less beef all the time!" Only Lucy, Happy, and Lahar didn't have faces of complete shock. "Anyway... Lahar," he said, going back to the original conversation, "I'll have this guy and Lullaby over there in a few minutes."

"Right. Signing off." Lahar's face disappeared from the Lacrima and Natsu made it vanish. Natsu then kicked Kageyama in the stomach to make him lose consciousness again, picked him up, and signaled to Happy to pick them both up and fly towards Kunugi Station.

"Hey," Lucy said when those three were out of sight, "is the stuff Natsu said _really_weird? The Natsu I've heard of on the news and read about in the paper always thinks like that."

"'Weird?'" Gray responded while taking his shirt off. "It's down right bizarre!"

"Natsu, no, not a single person in Fairy Tail has _ever_ thought like that," Erza added. "For _Natsu_of all people to be the first... there must be a reason."

"...If you say so..." Lucy said, going inside the "Vehicle."

"Something definitely happened to that hothead," Gray said, taking off his pants.

"Yes, this is, as he would put it, a strange 'Summer,'" Erza added. "But exactly _what_ happened to Natsu is still unknown. At least... at the moment..."

* * *

**With that, the Lullaby Arc is finished, but now Gray and Erza are suspicious of Natsu! Will they somehow discover the plot of this story? You'll just have to keep reading! Also, 100 points to anyone who finds all the "Higurashi Parody Fandub" references.**

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	5. To Defeat the Moon, BURN IT

**Sorry for being late with this one; real life took up my writing time. Luckily, the weekend's coming, so that means tons of free time!**

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

A few days had passed since the Lullaby incident was prevented. All the Eisenwald members were arrested and the guild officially disbanded, though Erigor mysteriously disappeared in the midst of custody. A little away from Fairy Tail, Natsu and Happy were lounging around in their house; Happy was playing with some yarn, and Natsu was lying on his bed, just staring at the ceiling.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, Natsu?" Happy asked, knocking the yarn to a random corner.

"Just about what I should be doing. I was preoccupied today in the first timeline, so I have nothing going on now."

"What happened in the first timeline?"

"I was in jail."

"...Did you drop the soap?" Natsu responded to this by Requipping another ball of yarn and throwing it to the cat so he could play with it.

"Originally, we caused a big mess taking down Eisenwald, so Erza was thrown in jail for a day to set an example, and I ended up there as well 'cause I didn't know and made a big scene. Now it's that same day, and my schedule is completely blank!"

"Why don't you just fill it up with something, then?" Happy asked, now apparently tangled up by the yarn.

"'Fill it up,' eh? ...Yeah, I'll do that!" Natsu then jumped out of bed and onto his bed. "I'm gonna speed things up a little!"

* * *

"'Defeat the curse of Galuna Island?'" Lucy read from the paper in Natsu's house. "Wait a minute, this Job is S-Class; how'd you get it?"

"I stole it," Happy said.

"Cat burglar!"

"Natsu, you know it's against guild rules to do a Job that doesn't go with your rank," Gray said.

"But if we _do _do it, then the old man will see that we have what it takes! Plus, if Erza comes, she can monitor us and make sure we're really ready; what do you all say?!"

"I don't know..." Lucy said.

"The reward's 7,000,000 Jewels and a golden Gate Key~~."

"I'm in," when Lucy said this, it looked as if the symbol for Jewels appeared in her eyes.

"What about you, Erza?"

"Hey! You forgot to ask me!" Gray yelled.

"So? You'll just go along with whatever Erza does."

"...No I won't..."

"...You in or not, Erza?"

"Natsu," she started, "you're asking me to help you break the rules purely for your own personal gain. I'm sorry, but I can't agree to this."

"If you go along with this, I'll buy you a piece of strawberry cake."

"That's not going to work, Natsu."

"Two pieces!"

"You're annoying me now!"

"With Oreo filling!" Erza grew oddly silent at this comment.

"Erzaaaaa..." Gray said.

"Think of it this way, Gray," she said. "You and Natsu are prime candidates for the next S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, so something like this will be good practice for what the S-Class world is like."

"That is the complete opposite of your regular thought pattern."

"Oreo filling, Gray! It makes the cake even better!" Gray facepalmed at this.

"I can't believe we're having this conversation..."

"Me, either."

* * *

"Laxus, why didn't you try to stop them?!" Mira asked when it was revealed that Natsu and Happy had stolen an S-Class Job.

"Well," he started, "I would've done it, but I'm obscenely rich. I have lots of money," That last sentence was said rather quickly.

"But you know you should've stopped them from breaking the rules; that's a rule in itself!"

"Screw the rules, I have money! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go outside; my ego feels rather cramped inside here," he then teleported out of the guild.

"Is he really rich, Master?" Mira asked.

"Well, he's my grandson, and I _do _own my own private island. Not only that, but didn't you see his coat? They don't give coats like that to _poor _people! ...Why are we talking about my family's wealth?! We need to find those brats!"

"Yo."

"Ah!" Makarov yelled as Natsu and his teammates appeared behind him seemingly out of nowhere. "Don't scare me like that, Natsu; I'll get a heart attack!"

"Not 'till October."

"Huh?" was uttered by Lucy, Gray, and Erza.

"Nothing. Listen, we wanna do this S-Class Job. Erza will be supervising us, and if we can do it, then you have to change the rule about only S-Class mages being allowed to do S-Class Jobs."

"Absolutely not!"

"Aw, come on, man! I'll give you some paper clips and a Subway coupon!"

"Well... okay!"

* * *

_Our Master is a simple man of simple pleasures..._Lucy thought as the five of them were in their boat heading towards Galuna Island. It was around then that their ferryman Bobo seemingly vanished. "Wh-where'd he go?"

"Look... up..." Natsu weakly said. At his command, everyone looked up to see Bobo, now in demon form, flying in the air.

"...You weren't supposed to see me..." Bobo said with a sweat drop.

"You're a sentinoid?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Why did you try to disappear like that?!" Erza asked.

"Because of _that,_" Bobo said, pointing his finger. When they all turned their heads to see what he was pointing at, they saw a giant tidal wave.

"You suck!" Everyone, minus Natsu, shouted in unison before being swept up in the wave.

* * *

The next day, the unnamed team were in the village as Moka had just finished explaining the nature of the Job.

"You seriously want us to destroy the moon?!" Gray asked

"Sir," Erza started, "given the information you relayed to us, there must be more to this than just the moon, so we'll need some time to-"

"I'll do it," Natsu said.

"...What?"

"I can probably take it out myself, so just sit back and watch!" He then climbed to the top of the tallest hut and gazed at the purple moon.

"Are you _really _gonna destroy the moon, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"One way or another."

"But the moon's all the way in _space_!" Lucy added. "There's no way you can destroy it, or even hit it for that matter!"

"Don't worry, Haruhi."

"Who's Haruhi?!"

"I have learned that the only way to defeat the moon is to BURN IT!"

_That sounds like it should be on a t-shirt..._Lucy thought to herself. It was at that moment that Natsu crossed his arms and summoned six ankhs of fire around himself.

"What is _that_?!" Gray asked.

"I've never seen Natsu use a move like this before..." Erza said.

"Crossfire Hurricane Special!" Natsu exclaimed. With that, the ankhs flew into the air until colliding with a barrier that shattered on impact.

"What's going on?" a villager asked. "It's not purple, but the moon's still there!"

"Not only that," another villager said, "we're still demons!"

"Allow me to explain," Natsu said, jumping back to the ground. "What I just destroyed was a magic barrier created by 'Moon Drip' Ethernano."

"'Moon Drip?'" Lucy asked.

"'It's a magic designed for the removal of powerful spells... 'Iced Shell,' for example," Gray twitched at the mention of "Iced Shell," but it wasn't too noticeable. "Setting that aside, the excess Ethernano it produces isn't biodegradable, so it all ends up getting stuck in the air. Over the course of three years, there was so much Ethernano produced that a sort of barrier formed around the island; this barrier's magic energy messed with your memories, causing you all to think you were 'humans that turned into demons at night' rather than what you truly are, 'sentinoids that can take on human form.'"

"Amazing... I'm glad that I left it in your hands," a voice said. "Thank you, mages." Everyone turned to see who it was, and when they saw that it was Bobo, the villagers all flew into the sky and celebrated.

"Thank you all so much, Hoga!" Moka yelled from the sky.

"You're welcome, but he's the one who did all the work!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing to Natsu.

"Yes, who is that brilliant young hero, Hoga?"

"He's... Natsu... Dragneel...?" Erza uttered. Natsu then wagged his right index finger before bringing his whole arm down and exclaiming, in gratuitous English, "YES I AM!"

* * *

"Hey, Lyon," Yuka asked atop the ruins that Deliora was being kept in, "what happened in the sky back there? It looked like something was breaking."

"Don't know, don't care," Lyon responded. "It in no possible way could relate to us, so let's get on with tonight's ritual. I want Deliora freed by the end of the-" just then, an explosion from beneath them was heard, followed by screaming, followed by two humanoid shapes breaking through the ground and going into the air before crashing down.

"Oooon..." the doggish one said. "Please don't tell anyone about this..."

"Toby?! Sherry?!" Lyon exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"Some Fairy Tail mages ambushed us and all of the guards..." Sherry weakly said, "We weren't expecting their LOVE to be so strong..."

"Tch! Come on, Yuka! Let's make those fairies realise who they're messing with!"

"Right!" But before they could do something, a voice from the shadows yelled, "Red Bind!" and the both of them were tied up in ropes of fire.

"What in the..." Lyon uttered. "Yuka, use your Wave to get rid of these things!"

"I don't think so," the same voice said. At that moment, the flame ropes put a sort of bracelet around Lyon and Yuka's wrists.

"'Magic Defenders?!'" Yuka asked.

"Yep," the voice said again. "With those on, neither of you can use your magic; GAME OVER."

"Enough of this!" Lyon yelled. "Show yourself! Who are you?!" The owner of the voice and four others then stepped into the moonlight.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel," he said. "I came from hell to tell you, 'we have room for one more.'" This probably needs some explaining, so I'll go back about 20 minutes. The "curse" had just been lifted, so everyone was partying. Gray, however, was brooding in some corner. When Lucy went over to ask what was on his mind, he said, "Natsu."

* * *

"That's not the kind of thing I want to hear while you're taking your pants off... of you know what I mean..." Lucy said with a sweat drop.

"What?" He then noticed that he was stripping again. "NO! I meant the stuff he said!"

"About 'Moon Drip?'" Erza asked, having come over at some point, herself.

"Mainly about the other spell he mentioned, 'Iced Shell.' It made me think about _why_there was 'Moon Drip' Ethernano here in the first place."

"It would make sense to stay here until we figure out the cause. What do you think it is?"

"I have an answer... but I can't believe it..."

"Believe it Gray; someone's trying to unfreeze Deliora." Natsu, flying above them with Happy's help, said.

"What?! How would you-"

"Mildea keeps records of extremely powerful magic and the mages who use them, so during my training, I learned about Ur using 'Iced Shell' to stop Deliora. That was the last recorded instance of 'Iced Shell,' so the attempted unfreezing of that monster was most likely the cause of the Ethernano buildup." The records existed, but Natsu learning this because of them was, of course, a lie.

"Wait, I'm confused," Lucy said. "What's 'Deliora,' and how is Gray connected to it?"

"He can tell you on the way to the ruins! By the way, meet us at the ruins!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as they flew away. The other three then followed Natsu and Happy, with Gray giving his dramatic backstory during their walk there, and, eventually, all five were at the ruins. There they met up with Toby, Sherry, and faceless mooks, who all got beaten up, bringing us back to the present.

* * *

"So... you're involved with this, Gray..." Lyon said.

"Lyon..." Gray started, "just stop this, already. There are more important things in the world than proving you're the best."

"Maybe for _you, _but that's not how I operate! I _will_unfreeze Deliora, and by defeating it, I will prove that I am superior to Ur!"

"Yeah, about that..." Natsu said, "that won't work."

"And why's that?"

"'Cause Deliora's already dead."

"What do you mean, 'dead?!' Deliora didn't die; it was frozen. Everyone knows that when your frozen, you're body's perfectly preserved until you're _un_frozen!" Natsu facepalmed at this.

"Okay, avoiding _science_ here, I'll explain it in terms of magic. Through my studying at Mildea, I learned of 'Iced Shell's' full mechanics. If 'Moon Drip' was used immediately, your plan would've worked, but the life of the victim constantly decreases as time goes by, and this is further sped up if the caster has extremely high magic. Ur was a mage with magic that could've made her a Wizard Saint, and 'Iced Shell' has been in effect for ten years; do the math." Everyone was silent for about a minute.

"He _is _making some sense, there," Toby said.

"I hate to admit, but his words are filled with undeniable LOVE," Sherry said.

"Not 'LOVE,' logic!"

"Also," Yuka started, "trying to free a bloodthirsty monster on the small possibility that it _could _be killed might not have been the best use of our time in hindsight."

"...Well... fuck," Lyon said. "I just wasted a good portion of my life, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did," Natsu said. He then snapped his fingers and undid the Red Binds. "Now Gray, why don't you and Lyon have a man hug so we can all go home?" The two ice mages stared at each other for a little bit, then they started walking, and then they had Natsu suggested man hug; they even threw in manly tears.

"Isn't that just beautiful, Lucy?" Erza asked.

"...I think we have different ideas of 'beauty.' Also... what happened to their clothes?" Meanwhile, on another part of the island...

* * *

"To think that Deliora was dead the whole time," Ultear said into her orb. "So much for using it ourselves, Siegrain-sama."

"It's alright, Ultear;" Siegrain(Jellal) said on the other end of the line, "even if we can't use Deliora, our main objective will still go off without a hitch. Still, to think that Natsu Dragneel could destroy the entire operation with just his words and find the cause of the 'curse' within a matter of minutes... he really has become as uncharacteristically smart and cunning as the news says he is."

"Yes, though he's nowhere near _your _level." _I wouldn't call Natsu a 'puppet,' after all._

"Ever since he returned to Fiore, I've had a feeling that I would have to fight him soon, and this event... makes me seek out that day even more." _I hope you don't disappoint me, Natsu, especially with 'our' precious Erza at stake..._

* * *

The next day, after receiving the reward, Natsu and the rest of the unnamed team were finally leaving the island. Sherry, Toby, and Yuka decided to rejoin Lamia Scale, and Lyon planned on following them after spending some time in Magnolia getting reconnected with Gray. The six of them took two boats back to the mainland; one sat Lyon, Happy, and a sickly Natsu, the other Lucy, Gray, and Erza.

"I know you two had it set up like this on purpose, so what do you want to say?" Lucy asked as they rowed to port.

"We needed to talk about Natsu in private," Gray said.

"The way he figured out the 'curse' and the reason behind the Ethernano's appearance... not to mention Gray's connection to it all... it's all too convenient."

"Can't you two just accept that he's a different person, already?" Lucy asked.

"It's not just that flamebrain's acting smart." Gray said. "Didn't his confidence in everything he did seem odd to you, Lucy? It was almost like he _knew _how everything was going to happen!"

"Now that you mention it..."

"We don't mean Natsu any harm," Erza started, "but his behavior is very strange, and we simply want to get to the root of it; will you help us do so, Lucy?"

"...I still think that you two are the weird ones here. This is the only Natsu I've ever known, so you saying that something happened to him isn't easy to agree to. But... you're both my friends, as well, so... I'm willing to believe you, even if it's just a bit! Let's figure out Natsu's behavior together!"

* * *

**Galuna's done, Laxus is an expy of Kaiba from "YGOTAS," Jellal's getting a pre-battle boner, Natsu was apparently trained by Avdol, and now Lucy's helping Gray and Erza discover the truth of the plot; this chapter sure was exciting, wasn't it?! Stay tuned for the next one; Gajeel makes an appearance, and we'll finally have a real fight in this story! Excelsior!**

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	6. Natsu VS Gajeel: Round 1, Universe B

**When I saw that I got almost 200 reads yesterday despite the time I uploaded the last chapter, I was so~~ happy! Even though I haven't even been writing for a week, I'd like to thank everyone who's enjoyed my story so far! Now if only my story could have a page on TV Tropes...**

* * *

**Since this is the first chapter with real fighting in it, I'll be telling you now that I'll be using the original Japanese names for some attacks in this story. Why, you ask? They're cooler that way! ...Anywho... on to the disclaimer!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

It was a cool, September night in Magnolia. The daily festivities that take place in the Fairy Tail guild hall had ended, and everyone had long since gone home. Soon, the city itself followed suit, and everything was silent; except, of course, for one metal man walking towards the guild.

"I wonder how I should mess up those chumps' guild?" Gajeel asked himself as he headed for the guild hall. "Should I jam giant swords in it or giant clubs? ...Swords! No, wait... they'll be expecting swords, so clubs it is!"

"If you're gonna go to all that trouble, why not destroy the building in its entirety?" a voice said from behind him.

"Good point; might as well..." he then turned to come face-to-face with Natsu. "Well, you're up late, ain't ya, 'Salamander?'"

"A little birdy told me Phantom Lord was trying to start a fight they couldn't finish; looks like the birdy was right, 'Kurogane.'"

"Don't forget about me, the 'Nekomander!'" Happy, flying into the scene from seemingly nowhere, shouted.

"Well now I feel even _more_confident," Natsu said sarcastically.

"What's with the cat?" Gajeel asked.

"Him? That's Happy, my personal Exceed."

"'Exceed?'"

"They're these magic talking cats that all Dragon Slayers have. What, you don't have one?"

"Maybe you should change it to all 'cool' Dragon Slayers, Natsu," Happy said with a snicker.

"I will kill you both!" Gajeel shouted, filled with jealousy over not having his own cat that all Dragon Slayers apparently had.

"I _was _gettin' fired up over the prospect of a fight," Natsu said, "so let's get it on! ...But not here; we'll mess up the town."

"Whatever. Middle of town, middle of the forest, wherever you want your grave to be is fine by me! Geehee!"

* * *

The three of them had relocated themselves to the town park for their upcoming battle.

_Gajeel Redfox..._ Natsu thought to himself. _He's one of the only people I'd seriously call a "rival;" a fight against him will definitely tell me how strong I've gotten._"Alright Gajeel, if I win, then you gotta leave Fairy Tail alone, got it?"

"Alright," Gajeel said, "but if, no, _when_ I win, I'll be messin' up your guild, _and_..." he stared at Happy for a brief moment, "I get your cat."

"What?!" Happy exclaimed.

"Deal."

"Natsu?!"

"Relax," Natsu whispered, "I'm much stronger now than I was at this point in the first timeline; I'm gonna win for sure."

"But Natsu," Happy whispered back, "what if the changes you've made in history so far made Gajeel stronger as well in some way?"

"...I'm sure you won't starve."

"Don't abandon me so easily!"

"Hey!" Gajeel shouted. "What're you two talkin' about?"

"Us?" Natsu asked at normal volume. "We're talking about... ghosts."

"'Ghosts?'"

"Y'know, spirits... ghosts..."

"What do ghosts have to do with this?"

"Everything."

"...That's stupid! You're stupid! Stop being stupid!"

"OR... maybe I'm being rhetorical?"

"No, no you're not! You're just using random words to sound smarter!"

"Well now you're just being transcendent."

"Tetsuryū no Hōkō!" Gajeel released a tornado of metal from his mouth that hit Natsu dead on. "That'll teach ya to be such a smart-Huh?!" Gajeel's eyes practically jumped out of their sockets when the dust from the collision cleared and he saw that his opponent was... relatively unscathed.

"Did you hold back with that, man?! You must've, 'cause that was about as strong as a locust's fart!"

"Don't mess with me, dammit! Tetsuryūken!" Gajeel's arm turned into a blade as he ran right in front of Natsu and slashed his chest. Natsu jumped back from the initial pain, but then he took his finger, wiped up some blood with it, and proceeded to lick it.

"So _that's _my blood tastes like." Gajeel looked very annoyed now. "Guess it's my turn, now. Karyū no Saiga!" Natsu moved his right arm in an arch as he knocked Gajeel back with his flames. The Iron Dragon Slayer then charged forward with a series of slashes, but Natsu was able to avoid the majority of them.

_Wow..._ Natsu thought to himself, _just... wow! When we first fought, Gajeel and I were almost even, but now... he can barely touch me! _Distracted by his inner thoughts, Natsu ended up tripping over a tree root and fell to the ground.

"Gotcha, bitch!" Gajeel yelled as he charged his sword straight at Natsu's chest. But before contact could be made, Natsu stopped the attack by catching it with his hands, surprising both Gajeel _and_Happy.

"Karyū no Kagidzume!" Natsu kicked Gajeel with a flaming foot, sending him flying about five metres.

"You're better than I thought, Salamander," Gajeel said, deactivating his sword. "But you're still not good enough to beat me, the great Gajeel; might as well give up now."

"'Give up,' you say..." Natsu then began to laugh like a maniac. "Man, to think that you've resorted to making yourself look big, Gajeel!"

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" he asked with some sweat drops.

"I mean that this fight has long since been over, and we all know that I'm the winner!"

"What?! D-Don't mess with me, you bastard!" he shouted, charging straight at Natsu. "Tetsuryūkon!" Gajeel's arm turned into a club that hit Natsu square in the face.

"Natsu!" Happy cried out. The Dragon Slayers just stood there for around twenty seconds before Natsu took his hand and pushed the club aside which, for some reason, made Gajeel deactivate it.

"Thank you sir, may I have another?" he said with a grin on his now blood-drenched face; it was so creepy that Gajeel took a step back. "Karyū no Hoken(Fire Dragon's Breakdown Fist)!" Natsu punched forward and released a giant fist of fire that engulfed Gajeel entirely and caused an explosion. When the flames dispersed, the majority of Gajeel's shirt was gone and his body was covered in burns and splotches of blood.

"Why don't we just stop this already, man?" Natsu asked. "The whole reason we're fighting is stupid to begin with; you don't have any real beef with Fairy Tail to begin with. Going even further, you might actually like us." Gajeel twitched at those last five words. "I mean, if you really wanted to piss us off, you wouldn't have waited 'till everyone was asleep to attack the guild, right?" Now Gajeel was absolutely livid. First Natsu throws him around like a ragdoll, and then he accuses him of being soft towards Fairy Tail?! He just wouldn't have any of that.

"You..." Gajeel started, "you... why you! Think you can say whatever you want just 'cause you got a few shots in on me, do ya?! I'll show you who's the best with my final attack!" Gajeel then clasped his hands together and formed a giant sword with them.

"His power's skyrocketing, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed.

"It sure is!" Natsu yelled with a smile. "Just the thought of takin' down _that_has me fired up more than ever!"

"Metsu Ryū Ōgi!" Gajeel screamed. "Gōma Tetsu Jin Ken!" He then brought the blade straight down in alignment with Natsu.

"Metsu Ryū Ōgi!" As the sword was about to hit Natsu, he punched the tip with a flaming fist, effectively stopping it from moving. "Guren Karyū Ken!" the Salamander then unleashed a flurry of punches, each one breaking the sword as he stepped closer and closer to Gajeel until he was right in front of him and delivered four punches to his body, knocking him a great distance away. As Gajeel struggled to get up, Natsu moved closer to him until they were right in front of one another.

"Get outta my city." He said with a menacing tone. Gajeel stared at Natsu for a bit with a scowl before spitting some blood at Natsu's face and walking away.

"Is he gonna be back, Natsu?" Happy asked when Gajeel was out of sight.

"Yeah, but not for awhile. And when he does come back, we'll all gladly greet him as the one thing he wants to be called: a friend."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

"**TO BE CONTINUED," eh? I'm an evil person for keeping you on your toes, aren't I?****（￣ー￣） ****I really just wanted the fight for this chapter, so sorry if it's not as good as the others(it was my first time writing a fight scene). Next chapter, though, there'll be more story-based things happening, so if you became a fan on account of that, you'll enjoy it.**

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	7. Ship Sinking and Decisions

**Sorry for the delay, but I don't think I'll disappoint!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Where we last left off, Natsu had just curbstomped Gajeel and stopped him from both destroying the guild _and_injuring the members of Shadow Gear. Now, it is the morning after in Oaktown, and Phantom Lord's master, Jose Porla, was quite annoyed.

"I am quite annoyed!" he yelled(told you). "Gajeel-san was supposed to be here at 9:00, and it's now..." he stared at a wall clock for a few seconds, "9:01! It couldn't be taking him _this_long to mess with those pathetic worms at Fairy Tail!" At that moment, the door to the guild open and the sun caused a familiar shadow to be cast on Jose.

"Ah, Gajeel-san! What kept you so LONG?!" The loud 'long' was the result of Gajeel walking in completely beat up. "G-G-G-G-Gajeel-san...?" Gajeel, ignoring him, walked towards the bar and grabbed a box of metallic objects that he then proceeded to eat in a Popeye-esque manner.

"Alright," he said, "feel a little better now; later." He then began to head towards the door before stopping when Jose yelled out, "Wait a minute!"

"...What?"

"Where do you plan on going?"

"Dunno."

"'Dunno?!' Have you forgotten the important task given to us by the head of the Heartfilia family, Gajeel-san? We need to bring his daughter back home, and we need all of our best mages here to do so! I don't know what happened last night, but I won't let it be an excuse to interfere with our chance to finally prove that we're superior to Fairy Tail!" In response to this, Gajeel threw an iron knife at his master, missing his face by only a few inches.

"I don't give any kind of flying fuck about that Job _or_beating Fairy Tail. All I care about is the only thing I've ever cared about: being number one. And with Salamander as he is and me how I am... that ain't happenin'. I'm not so stupid that I'll charge into a fight that I can't win, so I'm leavin', and I ain't comin' back until I think I can win, got it?!" Jose was completely dumbstruck by all of this. "Good. Glad we came to an understanding." Gajeel then turned around and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

"...Well..." Jose started, finally regaining his composure, "given the circumstances, it looks like it's time for Plan 'B': 'Total Obliteration!'"

* * *

"Tell me, Mage #1-san," Jose said as the guild marched towards Fairy Tail, "why didn't I just do this from the start?"

"Because you weren't trying to look like a _complete_dick by just blowing them up with the 'Jupiter Cannon?'" Mage #1 replied.

"Are you implying that I'm already a dick?"

"Um..." he was then blasted into the wall.

"This is why you can't have a name."

"But my name is-"

"Quiet! We're here. It's time to let the whole country know once and for all who's... seriously?!" The reason for that "seriously" was that when Jose looked outside, he saw not only all of Fairy Tail(minus Mystogan, Laxus, and Gildarts, plus Lyon), but an entire fleet of Rune Knights led by Lahar. On a side note, there appeared to be a large object behind the Knights that was being covered by a massive cloth.

"Jose Porla!" Lahar shouted with a voice amplification Lacrima. "You are in direct violation of the Council's law forbidding guild-on-guild warfare! Cease all attempted actions immediately and you may have your punishment lessened!"

"'Lessened,' you say? So, regardless of what I do, there'll be consequences for my actions, you say? If that's the case... I have nothing to really lose, now do I?!" A metallic contraption then jutted out of the guild and magic appeared to form around it's opening.

"It's a 'Jupiter Cannon!'" Makarov yelled, setting a multitude of people into panic. "Everyone, get out of the way!"

"FIRE!" A giant laser was then released straight at Fairy Tail and the Knights. But rather than making contact with any people, the 'Jupiter Cannon' instead collided with a giant, white Lacrima, which was evidently the large object the Rune Knights brought with them. "What's going on?!"

"The 'Jupiter Cannon's' being sucked into the Lacrima!" Mage #2 said.

"What?!" He then took another look at the scene outside and saw that the magic laser beam was getting smaller and smaller as the Lacrima got brighter and brighter.

"It's useless, Jose Porla!" Lahar shouted. "This is a special-issued 'Jumbo-Sized Absorption Lacrima,' designed to take in magic of the 'Infinity' alignment!" Everyone cheered at this statement.

_It's cool and all, _Lucy thought to herself, _but I can't help feeling that the 'Jumbo-Sized' part makes it a little lame._

"I gotta say Natsu," Lahar started, "I thought your request for this was a little odd, but now I see that it was a wise decision."

Natsu _asked for it?! _Gray and Erza thought simultaneously, adding this to their list of things that are weird about Natsu; they also had odd, slightly-angry faces, but this wasn't really noticed, and if it was, it was attributed to the current problem.

"It looks like the blast has lost half its size; won't be long until-" But before Lahar could finish that sentence, he noticed cracks appearing on the giant orb. "Oh no! The 'Jupiter Cannon' was stronger than we thought; the Lacrima will burst at this rate!"

"That ain't a problem while I'm here!" Natsu yelled. He then ran to the side of the beam and began to inhale. "Karyū no Burning Breath(Fire Dragon's Burning Breath)!" Natsu then released a blast of fire from his mouth similar to his Roar, but much bigger and wider. As it collided with the tip of the beam, it started to become unaligned with the "Jumbo-Sized Absorption Lacrima."

"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed. "By hitting the 'Jupiter Cannon's' blast at the tip, it can be set off course away from us! Good thinking, Natsu!"

"Aye!" Happy added. It was at that moment that the laser was completely unaligned with the Lacrima and flew off into the distance; this made Jose have a reaction face similar to one a character from _One Piece_ would have.

"Heh... that'll... teach ya..." An out of breath Natsu said before falling onto his back.

"Natsu!"

"I'm fine, Happy; that attack just made me use a crapload of magic is all. The problem _now_is that the 'Jupiter Cannon' will be fully charged in fifteen minutes, and I need to rest for at least twenty..."

"Hate to break it to you, Natsu," Gray said, "but we're gonna have this done in ten!"

"Yeah!" Elfman shouted. "We'll show those guys the true manliness that is Fairy Tail!"

"They picked the wrong day to mess with us," Erza added. "Today is Tuesday, and Tuesday is fajita night; no one messes with us on fajita night!" Gray facepalmed to this.

"Are we just gonna stand here talking about fighting, or are we actually gonna do it?" Lyon asked.

"Just hold your horses, Lyon. Wait, Lyon?! Why are you helping out?!"

"You think I'm just gonna let my junior have _all _the fun?" He asked with a smirk.

"This isn't your guild!"

"Let him help, Gray; we might need the extra muscle," Erza said.

"...But I guess it's alright this one time."

"Wow, Gray," Happy said to him, "you're doing everything Erza says, and you're not even gettin' some!" Gray responded to this by dropping a block of ice on Natsu's stomach.

_Why me?!_Natsu thought to himself.

"What do you mean by 'some,' Happy?" Erza asked.

"He means... cake," Gray said.

"'Cake,' eh? In that case, I'm definitely getting some later today!" This made everyone in earshot, including Lahar, and excluding an annoyed Gray, laugh.

"Are you gonna get some tomorrow, too?" Natsu asked with a smirk.

"I think I might get some all week." Everyone erupted with laughter. _I wonder what's so funny?_

"You should ask Gray if he wants to get some with you!"

"...Alright. Gray, would you like to-"

"HEY!" Makarov shouted. "While you're all chatting, the 'Jupiter Cannon's' charging, and Jose's 'Shades' are attacking everyone! Get a move on!"

"With pleasure!" Gray shouted as he headed to the mobile guild in an embarrassed rush.

"Gray!" Lyon shouted as he, Erza, and Elfman ran after him. "You forgot your clothes!"

"You too!" Natsu shouted at Lyon.

* * *

"Man, to think that this guild could transform into a robot;" Lyon said to himself as he ran through the "Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II," "is Phantom's master Jose Porla or Michael Bay?" In the time that had passed since he, Gray, Erza, and Elfman entered the mobile guild, the "Jupiter Cannon" was destroyed during his battle with Totomaru of the Element Four, making Jose decide to have his guild transform into a giant robot mage and have it prepare an Abyss Break(one can only wonder why he didn't do thatfrom the start...). After interrogating the fire mage, the four of them learned that the only way to stop it was to defeat all of the Elemental Four, so they split up to search for them; at the moment, only Totomaru and Sol have been defeated.

"I gotta find one of those guys soon; not only is there just a few minutes left, but Gray will beat me at this rate!" Lyon then noticed a ladder leading up to the roof. "Haven't checked there yet..." After climbing the ladder and getting outside, the Dynamic Ice-Make mage was surprised to see that it was raining.

"Drip drop..." A female voice said.

"! Who's there?!"

"Element Four's Juvia the 'Rain Woman,'" the woman said, finally showing herself.

"Element Four..."

"It's surprising that you could defeat two of us, but Juvia and Aria are not to be taken lightly." The two mages were silent as they stared at one another, and after about a minute, they both blushed and turned around.

"Well... there's no shame in calling this a draw."

"Juvia agrees. Farewell."

_What's going on with me?_ Lyon thought to himself. _I'm always so "cool," calm, and collected, but in front of that woman... my mind, my heart... they're both complete wrecks! Even so, I can't just leave her alone; for the sake of Gray's friends, and the beginning of my redemption, I must fight her!_Lyon then did an about-face, wearing a game face, when he saw that Juvia had also turned around, and at the same time.

"The same frequency!" They exclaimed in unison.

"W-Water Lock!" Juvia yelled as water began to form around Lyon.

"I don't think so!" Lyon said, jumping out of the way. "Ice Make: Eagle!" Lyon sent a multitude of ice eagles at Juvia, but they simply passed through her before crashing into the ground.

"Juvia's body is water... sorry..."

_Damn, my Dynamic Ice-Making can't hurt her gorgeous body like this! An opponent like her would've been better for Gray; he's better at Static Ice-Make than I am and could've just frozen her..._

"Farewell, sweet flower of love! Water Slicer!" Juvia then sent multiple blades of water at Lyon, cutting his body in multiple places.

"Ice Make: Wolf!" Lyon sent an ice wolf at his lovestruck opponent, but once again, it simply went right through her.

"It is impossible for you to defeat Juvia. Also... Juvia doesn't wish to fight you..."

"I feel the same. However, no matter what may act as a restriction, we must continue moving forward. That is the burden placed upon the shoulders of all who call themselves 'mages.'" Lyon then struck a fighting stance.

"Yes... that is too true... so be it then..." Juvia then raised both of her arms. "WATER SPOUT!" A giant blast of water was shot out of Juvia's hands that curved in the air and headed towards Lyon. As it got right above him, he put his arms up as well.

"Ice Make: DAWON!" When the water made contact with Lyon's hands, it immediately began to freeze. The freezing carried on through the entire mass with a tiger head forming at the halfway point that became the head of the moving freeze. Eventually, the tiger head engulfed Juvia, after which it burst and left her frozen in a tongue-shaped block of ice.

_I... I lost?_ Juvia thought to herself. _No... that is for the best; if Juvia could only win by hurting this man..._It was at that moment that the ice vanished, making her fall to the ground. "You freed me?"

"Why? It's because..." he said, walking towards her, "I don't want to fight you... all I want... is to _be _with you." It then stopped raining.

"Juvia doesn't know if she can believe that... no one's ever said such things to her before..." She had tears in her eyes

"Then believe it from what I'm saying without words..." Lyon grabbed her chin as he kissed her with intense passion, and after a few seconds, she followed suit. There was only one word that could describe the present emotion: love(on a side note, the "Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II's" arms slowed down, so I guess this counts as a win).

* * *

After the love on the battlefield, Erza earned a swift victory against Aria. With the Element Four taken care of, Makarov nuked Jose and the "Shades" with Fairy Law, and Jose was immediately arrested and stripped of his title of Wizard Saint.

"Once again Natsu, all of us with the government are thankful for your responsible actions," Lahar said to him. "If you ever decide to stop being a guild mage, I can guarantee you a high-ranking position with us."

"High enough where I can just sit back and let other people do my work?" Natsu asked.

"No, it would probably be the same as mine."

"Then forget it!" With that, Lahar and his squad left the scene.

"Good job to all of you!" Makarov said. "Now that we're done with that, let's party!"

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted... well everyone except Erza because she shouted, "Fajitas!"

* * *

"Do you really have to leave, Lyon-sama?" Juvia, Fairy Tail's newest water mage, asked her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, Juvia," he started, "but for the sake of our dreams, this has to happen. Even though I don't have the same obsession as before, I still want to be the best mage I can be; if I stay by your side all the time, my love for you will distract me from that; you have dreams yourself, so must agree with me on this. But I promise you, Juvia, when I finally achieve my dream, we can be together and never be taken apart."

"Lyon-sama!" She then gave him a loving embrace followed by him giving her one as well.

"Juvia!" The two of them then broke out into some very inelegant blubbering as they hugged, making an observing Gray feel disgusted; such is the effect of a love such as theirs.

* * *

_Lyon and Juvia, eh...?_ Natsu thought to himself, sitting down to catch his breath in the midst of the party. _Never even _thought _that couldbe a thing, what with how crazy Juvia was for Gray in the first timeline; so much for Gruvia..._It was then that his thoughts were interrupted by a blonde mage saying, "Nice job today, Natsu!"

"Thanks, Lucy. I'm just glad we took them out before things got outta hand."

"Still though, I wonder why they picked a fight with us, anyway? I heard that you two don't get along, but this _had _to be more than just a rivalry, right?"

"Well, about that... y'know how I fought that Phantom mage yesterday? He told me the reason that they were picking a fight with us... your dad hired them to bring you back home."

"What?!"

"I don't know what kind of problems you have with your dad, but maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea. I mean, if you go back home, you can tell him off the right way, right?" He asked with a grin. Lucy simply nodded with a smile.

* * *

"Man that was a fun party!" Natsu exclaimed back in his house. "I wish I could've gotten some more fajitas, though; Erza sure loves fajitas."

"Yeah..." Happy said, his voice lacking its usual pep.

"What's wrong, Happy? You seem a little down."

"Well, there's something I wanna say, but I don't know if I should say it..."

"Happy, if this is anything like the school swimsuit fiasco, you'd be better off telling me."

"Good point," Happy then took a deep breath and made a long exhale. "I think Lucy, Gray, and Erza are on to you... or they at least know you're hiding something."

"What?!"

"When we were leaving Galuna Island, I heard Gray and Erza talking in the other boat about how you were acting really odd since you came back, and Lucy said she would believe them since they were friends. Also, Gray and Erza were giving you weird looks today... like they were suspicious of you, or something."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." Natsu said as he began to scratch his neck, "this isn't good..."

"Well... maybe we should just tell them, Natsu..."

"No! If they know the truth, all it'll do is make them worry about what's going to happen, and this whole thing stresses me out enough already!" The scratching of the neck got a little more fierce. "Right now, things are still fine, so there's no point in doing anything..."

"And if they get worse?" Natsu's neck started to bleed.

"...I don't know... but I have to decide something..."

* * *

**And with this chapter, I've lost the readership of all Gruvia shippers. Fine, go! I didn't like any of you, anyway! ...Please keep reading.**

**(_ _)**

**Things sure picked up with the plot, didn't it? Whatever happens in chapter 8 is **_**definitely**_ **gonna change things! Also, for anyone who got the neck thing at the end, you're gonna like all the references in the next chapter.**

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	8. Yōsei no Naku Koro ni

**Mii~ The following is a non-profit fanfic, nano desu. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima, nano desu. Please support the official release, nano desu. Nipah~~~!**

* * *

It had been around a week since Phantom War, and everything had become quite relaxed. Right now, Natsu's nameless team was on a mission nearby Balsam Village, though the team this time excluded Natsu and included Juvia. Why wasn't Natsu there, you ask? He said he had some "things" to take care of. Why was Juvia there? She went along because she, in her own words, "wanted to get closer to Lyon-sama's heterosexual life partner, Gray-sama."

"Alright," Natsu said in his house, "the Loke thing won't change at all if I do something, so when they get back, I can just act as I did in the first timeline. Today, though, I gotta plan out what should happen in the Tower of Heaven Arc... why did I call it an 'arc?'  
"The way it ended the first time around was that the Tower blew up and Jellal ended up in a coma. About a month later, he was healed by Wendy, but ended up with amnesia and was eventually arrested. I can't let that happen this time, though; Jellal's a good person who was tricked into being evil; if anyone deserves a 'Happy End,' it's him!" Natsu then Requipped his Mini Communications Lacrima and held it in his hand until Doranbolt's face showed up(I feel like mentioning that all members of Fairy Tail now have their own Mini Communications Lacrima, though the ones who can't Requip just put them in their pockets).

"Oh, hey Natsu. How's it hangin'?" Doranbolt asked.

"Pretty good. I hear you're being transferred to Fiore soon."

"Yep, just one step closer to a promotion!"

"Ah. Well, listen, I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"I need you to tell me everything relevant about councilman Siegrain and councilwoman Ultear Milkovich."

"Those two? Why?"

"They're both around my age, yet they're both on the Council; I'm a little curious about their credentials."

"You've never asked before, though." He said with a glare

"W-What's with the third degree here, man?" Natsu asked with a sweat drop. "Did _I _question _you _when you came back to base with that walrus and sack of butter?"

"...No, and I thank you for that," he said, remembering that particular noodle incident. "Give me a minute to get some files." The orb went blank. One minute later...

* * *

"Alright, I got some things," Doranbolt said, coming back to the screen. "Councilman Siegrain has been a member for about four years after graduating the top of his class at Mustashim Academy. Even though he's only 19, he has amazing knowledge of everything regarding battle, politics, _and _the economy; he's truly an outstanding man."

_Yeah, and that's why everyone loves him,_ Natsu thought to himself. _So when he was revealed to be a terrorist, there was so much backlash that the Council had to completely rebuild itself. Dammit, Jūgo, this doesn't help me!_

"Ultear, however," Doranbolt said, interrupting Natsu's thoughts, "doesn't really have much in her file."

"What do you mean?"

"No record of schooling, no record of prior work with the Council or a guild; she only got on the Council by passing the required test, and she was only allowed to take it thanks to Councilman's Siegrain's recommendation."

"I see. And how long has she _been _on the Council, exactly?"

"I think a little over a year."

"'A little over a year,' you say...?"

"Is everything alright, Natsu? You seem a little-"

"Walrus and butter."

"...You're alright. I got work to do, so if you need anything else, call me." The orb went blank again and Natsu made it vanish. A few seconds later, a wicked grin appeared across his face.

"PERFECT!" He said in gratuitous English. "With this, everything will definitely work out! Without a doubt!"

* * *

Several days later, the unnamed team, minus Juvia, despite her temporary joining, had gone to the Akane Resort with some free tickets given to them by Loke before his return to the Celestial Spirit World. After spending the day at the beach, the mages decided to gamble, and Natsu and Happy had just lost a lot in Mahjong.

"Well, there goes my snack money for the week..." Natsu said, his head lying on the table as he cried. "Why'd you have to be so good, Detective Ooishi?"

"It's because I'm delicious," the old man across from Natsu said.

"Yeah, but it's _that_guy who's really tough," Happy said, pointing at the younger man sitting next to Ooishi. "Who are you again?"

"Who am I?" He asked with a southern/western accent. "I'm Akasaka, mothaf**ka!"

"You seem very awesome!"

"Thank ya, cat. Now, if you'll excuse me," he got up from the table, "I need to go beat up a ton of people single handedly without breaking a sweat."

"Bye!" Akasaka then walked away.

"I gotta go, too," Ooishi said, also getting up from the table. "There's this kid digging up a corpse in the rain, and I gotta be a real dick to him for no real established reason."

"Okay, then!" Natsu said. "Stay delicious!" Detective Delicious then departed to be delicious somewhere else. "They were fun."

"Yeah, but we lost a ton of money, Natsu; how're we gonna break even?"

"Complainin' 'bout your losses in a casino?" A voice asked. "That ain't very dandy, ya know."

* * *

We are now near the card table. Shô and Millianna, Erza's childhood friends, appeared out of nowhere, and the latter had tied Lucy up with her Nekōsoku Tubes.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Erza yelled. "Lucy's my friend!"

"Nya?" Millianna meowed in question form. "'Friend?'"

"Weren't _we _your friends, nee-san?" Shô asked.

"Ah... yeah..." Erza stammered.

"That is, until you betrayed us, of course." Shô saying this sent a chill down Erza's spine. "...I said, 'That is, until you betrayed us, of course.' ...I SAID! 'That is, until you betrayed us, of course!' ...Come on, Wally, that's your cue to come out! I thought we rehearsed this, man!" The confusing nature of what Shô was saying calmed Erza down. As Shô kept saying, "That is, until you betrayed us, of course," each time saying it louder and louder and increasing the dramatic effect in some way, a square-bodied person was suddenly thrown onto the ground in front of the four of them.

"Wally?!" Shô and Millianna exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he's alright," Natsu said, walking onto the scene.

"He went down in a truly dandy fashion," Happy added, coming up on the rear and clearly making fun of Wally.

"Why, you!" Shô yelled as he pulled out some cards.

"Hold it, Tsubaki!" Natsu said, holding his hand out in the universal "STOP!" position.

"'Tsubaki?'"

"Your anger is misplaced here. Jellal's been tricking you and everyone else in the Tower of Heaven for the last eight years."

"What?!"

"Nyani?!" Millianna added.

"Natsu!" Erza yelled with anger. "How do you-"

"Please save all questions for the end of tour," Natsu interjected.

"Aye!" Happy added.

"_Save them for the end?!" _Erza thought to herself. _Natsu must know that we know there's a reason for his change in behavior and wants to take care of that after this! ...Maybe that's not such a bad idea..._

"Jellal told you that Erza tried to kill everyone after going mad with power, right?" Natsu asked. "Does that really seem like something Erza would've done? I'll answer for you: it doesn't. The truth of the matter is that _Jellal's _the one who went crazy. Not only that, he told Erza that if she tried to help any of you, you'd all die."

"U-USO DA(A/N: "Uso da" means "That's a lie." I could've just written that, but then it wouldn't be a Higurashi reference)! I was saved thanks to Jellal! We spent the last eight years building that Tower for him! Are you saying... that all of this was a lie?" Natsu just stared at him. "Are you saying that Jellal lied to us?!"

"That's right," a voice said, making everyone turn their heads to see a man with an eyepatch walking onto the scene with Gray.

"Simon?!" Shô exclaimed. "Where have _you _been?!"

"I was about to fight Gray when I sensed Wally's magic drop. I knew that the operation would fail, so I dropped my charáde and told him everything I knew."

"'Charáde?!'"

"Simon here never trusted Jellal to begin with," Gray said. "But he couldn't do anything on his own, so he's spent the last eight years pretending to be his ally until a chance to strike popped up."

"I've always believed in you Erza..." Simon said with a little blush.

"Simon..." Erza said as she walked over and hugged him, causing Gray to get very mad and drop a block of ice on Natsu.

"Why me?!"

"You were gonna say _something!_"

"Can I get untied now?" Lucy asked with a sweat drop.

"Okay!" Millianna said as she undid her magic.

"How... how could you trust her like that?" Shô asked Simon. "Why couldn't I trust nee-san like you did? ...Damn it! Who's telling the truth?! Who am I supposed to believe?!" Shô began to cry as Erza walked over to him.

"I know it's hard to accept everything right now," she started, "but let me just say a few words. In these eight years, I never forgot about you guys. I couldn't do anything... I was too weak. I'm sorry." She then looked at Natsu intensely. "I'm assuming you have a plan, Natsu." Gray and Lucy immediately understood what she meant by "assuming."

"...Maybe~~."

* * *

Five minutes after the events of the events of the last scene, Natsu had finished explaining his plan.

"I must say, Natsu," Simon said, "this is _quite _the plan!"

"It's real dandy!" Wally, who regained consciousness right before the explaining, said.

"Nya! Let's do it!" Millianna said.

"What about you, Shô?" Natsu asked.

"...Let's take down Jellal!" He exclaimed.

"That's what I'm talkin' about! But give my friends and I ten, twenty minutes alone." Natsu turned to Lucy, Gray, and Erza. "We have some things to talk about."

* * *

The unnamed team had relocated themselves to Natsu's suite. Lucy, Gray, and Erza stood on one side, and Natsu and Happy stood on the other.

"Alright, Natsu," Erza started, "how did you know about Jellal and the Tower? I don't want that bullshit excuse of learning about it during your two years abroad. I... we want the truth!"

"'The truth,' you say...?"

"Natsu..." Happy said.

"It's alright, Happy. I've decided to do this, so there's no point in making a fuss about it. But still... why...? Just a little longer. I was almost there. I just had to keep doing what I was doing for two more months and it would've been over... so why...? Why now...?" Everyone was completely silent as Natsu spoke with such a sad face and tone. "I thought... if I just kept it like this... everyone could reach their own 'Happy End...'  
"I'll tell you... everything that happened..." Natsu then smiled, but his eyes combined with the atmosphere made it very melancholic. "This is something only Happy, the old man, and Mildea's Miltz XV know about. ...Will you... all listen...? ...To the tale of the hardest... Natsu has ever worked in his life?"

* * *

And so, Natsu told his friends everything. About Grimoire Heart's attack during the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial. About Zeref killing everyone. About his memories being transferred to his two-year-younger self in another timeline. The three humans listening had expected _something _big, but not anything like this.

"...How hard..." Natsu started, "do people have to work... in order to be happy...? You three grew suspicious of me, and our bonds silently began to decrease. But if I wanted to ensure everyone's happiness, I had no choice but to hide the truth from you all. I've been working harder than I ever have for that goal, and yet, because I never told you, I've received scorn! In reality, you should be praising me! Natsu Dragneel is fighting against destiny! And he's conquering it!" Everyone was silent after that for a bit.

"But Natsu..." Lucy started, "why didn't you... come to us? We're your friends, aren't we? We're like family, aren't we?! If you asked us to help you, we could've found an easier way to deal with this!"

"There's no better way. This is perfectly fine."

"USO DA! If you've been fine with it, then why have you been crying this whole time?!"

"Huh...? Who's crying? Me? When did I shed a single tear?!"

"Just now! You've been crying this whole time! Can't you tell?! This entire time that you've been lying to the people closest to you, you've been crying in your heart!"

"...What are you talking about, Lucy? Why would I cry over this? You're so stupid! Stupid, Lucy! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"That! That's you crying! That's what I'm talking about!" Natsu was shocked to hear his blonde friend say such a thing.

"...So... if I had told you about all of this... what would you have done, Lucy?"

"! …...I..."

"See? It's exactly what I thought. You say that you want to help me, but you know that you're all powerless in a situation like this. After all, my strength is all that Zeref is looking at; if it's not good enough to take him down, he'll kill you all. Despite this, you think you can help me...? _That, _Lucy, is the limit of friendship!  
"Friends can't do anything you ask of them! They can put on happy faces for you, but they're power_less_ more times than they're power_ful_! You all shouldn't have asked for the truth! I would've preferred it if you just kept finding me weird and left it at that! ...AHHAHAHAHA! Do you understand?! When it's something truly serious as this, your friends are always helpless! I came to that conclusion a while ago! That's why I've been fighting on my own! See? Aren't you impressed?!" He then noticed the sad expressions on everyone's faces. "Stop making those faces and praise me! I'm telling you to praise me!" Natsu then began to laugh like an ax-wielding girl who had an obsession with cute things. But in the midst of his crazy laughing, he started to cry. After that, everyone else followed suit.

_...Natsu's in despair,_ Lucy thought. _He feels the despair of his friends being powerless. Is everyone else in despair, too? Feeling the despair of not being able to help a friend...? Dammit! Is this all we can do? Is there no point in having any friends?_  
_Before I ran away from home, I was always alone. But... at Fairy Tail, I... I... I... at Fairy Tail, I..._ Lucy made a fist with her hand. "NATSU!" Everyone seemingly snapped out of it. "I... won't abandon you! The same with Gray, Erza, and Happy! They'll help you! Who can turn their back... on a friend in pain?!  
You knew it, didn't you, Natsu? You knew that keeping this from us wasn't the best choice!"

"U... uso da!" Natsu yelled. "USO DA!"

"No it isn't! You've regretted it all along! Didn't you?! The truth is, you wanted us to know from the beginning! You wanted our help! But you rejected those feelings, and now you're trying to justify yourself! Why do you keep clinging to that stupid idea... when it means rejecting your friends?! Forget that and trust us! We're on your side! We're your... friends!  
Even if we can't help you fight Zeref, if you let us support you, it'll feel like there's less weight on your shoulders. If it's like that, it'll be easier for all of us to get our 'Happy Ends!' This is it, right? The future you wanted! This is it! The choice you wanted to make!" Lucy then walked closer to Natsu and put her hand out. "Go on! Take my hand! If we all reach out to each other... we can grab the future!" Gray, Erza, and Happy then put their hands on top of Lucy's. "We've all... reached out a hand! We're just waiting for you. Come over here! We... can work together!" Natsu just looked at his team of best friends, unsure of what to do next. Then, after a moment, he put his hand in the pile.

"You guys..." Natsu said, "I've been pretending to be okay, but I was afraid of getting all the way to the end and losing again. If I hadn't run into all of you... if I had taken care of it all myself... then I wouldn't have been able to bear the weight of my cross. I think it would've crushed me... But now I know that that was stupid of me. I've never been alone; I've always had you guys, my best friends, ready to back me up whenever I would need it. If you guys believe in me, then even if it's one-on-one, I won't be fighting Zeref alone! Let's reach our 'Happy Ends;' all of us, together!"

"OOOOOOHHH!" Everyone else shouted.

_Erza... everyone._ Simon's voice said in their head. _It's been twenty minutes now. Are the five of you done?_

_Yes, Simon, _Erza thought back to him. _We'll be down soon._The telepathic link ended.

"...That's right..." Erza started, "we're still in the middle of something."

"So what about what just happened?" Happy asked.

"There's no need to do anything about it now..." Gray said. "This won't have true meaning until December, so let's just forget it 'till then." Everyone nodded in unison.

"Yeah, that's the last chapter in this sound novel, after all," Natsu said. "It'd be nice to get to it now, but we've got other things to do before all that! Like right now! Erza!" He pointed right at her. "Starting now, you're gonna get your 'Happy End!'"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Holy shit that was awesome! With the truth revealed, the bonds between Natsu and his friends are now stronger than ever! And with that hurdle in their lives cleared, it's back to the Tower of Heaven! What's Natsu's master plan for doing things different?! How will Erza get her "Happy End?!" You'll have to keep reading to find out!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, for I will use good feedback to write a great story somehow! Because I'm still a writer. MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Going to watch TV!**


	9. Major Ripples

**I'm going to be saying this now so you all end up less mad at me: I have a Psych paper due at the end of the week and an English paper due after President's Day, so updates might become less frequent. Also, who else was happy that the Ravens won the Super Bowl?**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The scene was the throne room in the Tower of Heaven. The Tower's master, Jellal Fernandes, stood near the edge of the room, gazing outside.

_Soon, everything shall be mine,_ he thought to himself. _My eight year dream, my "Paradise..." it will all soon be mine...! All that's left is for "Siegrain" to have Etherion fired, and-_At that moment, the door to the room opened and in walked Shô and a chained-up Erza.

"And, of course, the sacrifice."

"Did I keep you waiting, Jellal?" Shô asked.

"Not at all; the ritual won't begin for another half hour, so this is great timing. ...Where are Simon and the others?"

"Back at the resort. Nee-san was with some 'friends' from Fairy Tail; we defeated them, so Simon and everyone else stayed behind to make sure they don't come here after recovering."

"Really? I figured that with Natsu Dragneel, the country's current hot topic there, you would've had some trouble. I guess I overestimated the man; and I was _so_ looking forward to fighting him. Oh well." Jellal then walked over to Erza. "You sure have become striking, Erza." All Erza did was stare at him with a blank expression. "She appears broken... that'll make things easier in the long run. Good work, Shô." Jellal then stuck out his right hand towards Shô who then shook it. "Now, Shô, all of the pieces have been laid out on the board. With this, we can... wait... huh...?"

"Something wrong, _Jellal?_" Shô asked with a grin.

_What is this?_ Jellal thought to himself. _It feels like... there's something in my hand. What could it..._ Jellal then opened his hand to see a facedown card. _A card? Why is there- wait! Isn't this one of Shô's cards?!_Shô then snapped his fingers. Afterwards, in place of the card was Millianna, who's sudden appearance made Jellal fall to the ground.

"Millianna?! What are you-" But before Jellal could finish his thought, one of Millianna's Nekōsoku Tubes was wrapped tightly around his torso. "GAH!"

"Your plan worked, Nyatsu!" Millianna exclaimed.

"Of course," a voice from an unknown location said. At that moment, cards flew out of Shô's sleeves and disappeared, leaving Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Happy, Wally, and Simon in their places.

"Natsu Dragneel?! So you _did _have a way to become my opponent! I must say, though, it's quite cowardly to do something like this!"

"Is it really?" Natsu asked. "Maybe if I was trying to _fight _you, but there's a difference between that and _beating _you!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Think hard, Jellal. Think re~~~al hard about how you've been restrained."

"...Wait... NO!" We will now take a peek at the Magic Council's emergency meeting.

* * *

"It is for these reasons that I call for a vote on the usage of Etherion," "Siegrain" said to his fellow Council members. "The majority vote shall be the taken action. I vote that we-" But before "Siegrain" could finish talking, he suddenly vanished.

"S-Siegrain?!" Org said.

"What happened?!" Michello asked.

"He just... vanished..." Yajima said.

"...The matter of this meeting is postponed..." Org said, getting up.

"Postponed?!" Ultear asked with some sweat drops. "Sir, don't you think that this is something too important to-"

"ULTEAR! A member of the Council just vanished right in front of us; I think figuring thatout is a much more pressing matter, don't you?!"

"..."

"Good. Everyone, return to your homes! It's late, so we'll start a search in the morning." Everyone departed from the room.

_Fuck a duck; seriously!_ Ultear thought to herself. _Why did he just disappear?! If it's like this, there's no way Etherion can be fired! What the hell's going on over there, Jellal?!_ This requires explanation, so we will now go back to Natsu explaining his plan at the hotel.

* * *

"First of all, there's something important you need to know," Natsu started. "Councilman Siegrain isn't a real person; he's actually a Thought Projection created by Jellal who's going to try and have Etherion fired at the Tower."

"What?! Why?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"In actuality, the R-System is a giant Lacrima designed to absorb magic, and Etherion has enough magic in it to power the whole system. Once it's fired, all that'll be left to do is offer a sacrifice."

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Gray exclaimed.

"The answer's actually quite simple, Gray." He looked towards Shô and Millianna. "Millianna will hide in one of Shô's cards. When Shô brings Erza to Jellal, he'll probably want to shake Shô's hand, since that seems like something a villain would do. He'll slip the card containing Millianna into Jellal's hand and then deactivate it; at that moment, Millianna will wrap him up in one of her Nekōsoku Tubes."

"If that happens, then Jellal won't be able to use his magic!" Lucy said.

"And he won't be able to maintain his Thought Projection!" Erza exclaimed.

"Meaning Etherion won't get fired, and Jellal's plan comes crashing down!" Natsu said with a grin. "But there's a little more to it than just that." We now go back to the Tower.

* * *

After Natsu finished explaining that part of his plan to Jellal, he started cackling like a madman.

"You think you're _sooooo _smart, don't you, Natsu?!" Jellal yelled. "But little did you know that I expected interference, so I hired outside help! Trinity Raven! Get out here!" At his command, from a shadowed part of the room walked in a punk rocker, an owl-headed man, and a swordswoman wearing a kimono.

"You're all dead now! These guys fought in the Cabria War and assassinated every Western officer; they won't even break a sweat against garbage like you! Now go! Kill them! Except for the red-haired girl, kill them all! But first, untie me; I want there blood on my hands as well!" Jellal kept waiting for something to happen, but, alas, nothing did. "Wh-what is this? What the hell are you three doing?! I didn't pay you to just stand around and do nothing!"

"Maybe not, man," Vidaldus said, "but that's what _they're _payin' _us _for! Rock on!" He then played an awful riff on his guitar.

"What?!"

"Hoho!" Fukuro hooted. "Not too long ago, Simon contacted us telepathically and offered us double what you did to not get involved. The power of justice no longer lies with you, Jellal; hohohoho!"

_Yeah,_ Natsu thought to himself with a sweat drop, _but I didn't know that these guys didn't have any cash, so they couldn't be the ones to pay. I'm glad the guys agreed to help, but why did it have to come out to 7,777,777 Jewels?!_

"Your plan has now failed," Ikaruga said poetically. "Allies, magic; all are gone. The dice have rolled 'ones.'"

"That... can't be..." Jellal uttered.

"It's over, Jellal," Erza said, now freed from her restraints.

"That... can't be..."

"You're sick; you've been sick for eight long, terrible years."

"That... can't be..."

"But despite that... we're still your friends... and we want to help you..."

"That... can't... BE! Don't you fools realize what I'm trying to do?! I'm trying to create a 'paradise' in place of this fucked up world! It is for that reason that I have walked the path of nihilism; for the moment you are all getting in the way of! Why though, why?! Don't you hate this world, too?! This world that robbed us of our parents, our siblings, our homes... this world where every selfish, happy go lucky shit walks around leisurely every day, as if it were created just for them, portrays a false livelihood, so why are you stopping me from bringing the world that should exist to life?!" Jellal was then hit in the head with Gray's Ice Make: Hammer and lost consciousness.

"Why do you feel you have the right to change things?!" Gray yelled.

* * *

The next day, in Era, the Magic Council had gathered together in the courtroom to discuss "Siegrain's" disappearance when a call came in for Org. Apparently, a few members of Fairy Tail had something to show them, and if they weren't allowed to, their guild would "get angry." Understanding what that meant, the Council promised them five minutes.

"This had better be good..." Org mumbled to himself as they waited. The doors to the courtroom opened, and a sight appeared that shocked everyone present: Natsu and his unnamed team (minus Happy)dragging in a beaten up "Siegrain(tied up with a Nekōsoku Tube)."

_I _don't _think I can help you out with this one, Makarov..._Yajima thought to himself with a sweat drop.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Org yelled. "Property damage is one thing, acting unprofessional during your Jobs, but attacking a member of the _Council, _Fairy Tail?! There better be an explanation for this, because just the dissolvement of your guild won't protect you from a crime such as this!"

"Yeah, this _is _a serious crime;" Natsu said nonchalantly, "or, at least, it would be if this _was _'Siegrain!'"

"! What are you saying, Natsu Dragneel?"

"The man named 'Siegrain' never actually existed; he was a Thought Projection created by the man named 'Jellal' to infiltrate the government and eventually get Etherion fired in order to power up the Tower of Heaven."

"Hogwash! Poppycock! ...Hogcock!"

"Maybe it is hogcock, maybe it isn't. Truthfully, there isn't a lot I can say to convince you. But there is _one _person who _can,_" Natsu then turned towards Ultear. "Isn't that right, Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich?" Everyone(except Jellal) then turned toward her.

"_Ultear?!"_ Gray thought to himself with some sweat drops. _That was the name of Ur's kid, wasn't it? Isn't she supposed to be dead?!_

"...Just what are you saying, Natsu Dragneel?" Ultear asked.

"That _you_ were involved with Jellal's scheme, that _you_ are a member of Grimoire Heart, and I'd even go so far as to say that _you _convinced him to do all of this in the first place!" At the end of the last statement, Jellal started to look at her.

"Those are all _very _serious accusations... especially the second one. Do you have any proof?"

"No."

"Then I must kindly ask you to-"

"But _you _do! The blazon of Grimoire Heart should be on your back! Show it to us right now!" Everyone looked at Ultear very intensely.

"...Very well, then." _What an idiot you are, Natsu, _Ultear thought to herself. _I can just use my Transformation magic to alter the skin on my back. I don't know _how _you learned any of this, but you've made poor usage of such "precious" knowledge._

"One more thing," Natsu said as he threw a bracelet at Ultear.

"Wh-what is...?"

"That's a 'Magic Defender;' once you put it on, you can't use your magic, and you won't be able to trick us in any way."

_The hell is this?!_

"Put it on."

_I... I lost?!_

"Put it on and show us your back."

_My ten year dream of the World of Magic... my dream of being with my mother again... will it all be destroyed... by this one man...?!_

"Put it on and show us your back! Ultear Milko'BITCH!'" At that moment, Ultear's teal-colored orb shot out and smashed against the side of Natsu's head; he stood his ground, but he did start to bleed. "I knew it."

"I won't let it die... I won't let it die... everything I've worked for... I won't let it dieeeeee!" The orb flew at Natsu again, but he smacked it away.

"Hey! Geezers!" Natsu yelled to the Council. "Get outta here and bring back some Rune Knights! I won't have you guys be collateral!" The Council then immediately exited the room. "Alright, guys, let's take down Milko'BITCH!'"

"Ice Make: Ice Hammer!" Gray yelled as he attacked Ultear with a spiked hammer. Their opponent, however, simply stuck her hand out and it vanished. "What?!"

"Sorry, but my Arc of Time allows me to manipulate the time of inorganic material; the creations of such pathetic magic are no exception."

"Don't you dare talk smack about Ur, your mother's, magic!" Gray ran up to land a punch, but Ultear simply moved out of the way and kicked Gray into the wall.

"Open, gate of the golden bull!" Lucy yelled. "Taurus!"

"MOOO!" Taurus mooed as he appeared. He went in to attack Ultear, but she materialized a sword and swiftly cut him up. "MOOOOO!" Taurus went back to the Celestial Spirit world.

"How did you get worfed so fast?!"

"Is this the best you got? If so, then-"

"Moon Flash!" Erza yelled, Requipping into her Black Wing Armor and sending energy slashes at Ultear. The first one hit her, but she managed to dodge the second. Afterwards, Erza flew in for a physical slash, but was parried by her opponent.

"Not bad," Erza said.

"I feel _so _happy to hear that," Ultear said sarcastically. "Now watch this!" Ultear took her sword and horizontally slashed the air.

"...What are you-" But before Erza could finish talking, a deep cut appeared on her stomach, making Erza fall to one knee and cough blood.

"ERZA!" Gray cried.

"What just happened?!" Lucy asked. "Erza just got cut, but she wasn't even touched!"

"I call that spell, 'Replay,'" Ultear said. "When I do something with my sword, I can replay the action somewhere else. But you know..." she made a "V" in the air, "just because it's one action doesn't mean it can't be replayed in multiple places!" At that moment, a deep "V"-shaped cut appeared on Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza's legs, making them all fall a little.

"And now..." Ultear started, throwing her sword into the air, "Parallel Worlds!" The sword split into dozens of copies of itself, all floating in the air. "I hope you like swiss cheese, 'cause you're all about to be it!"

_Shit!_ Natsu thought, clutching his leg. _I didn't think she'd be this_ _strong! Looks like I don't have a choice... I was saving it for later in the timeline, but if I don't use "that" now..._

"Flash-" Before Ultear could finish her attack, however, a hand suddenly found its way to her shoulder, making her turn around.

"Jellal?!" Erza yelled.

"When did he get out of catgirl's Tube?!" Gray asked.

"Ah, Jellal-sama!" Ultear said to him. "Good work on escaping your bonds! You don't need to do anything, though; I'm about to finish these fools off. Afterwards, we can force the people here to fire Etherion at the Tower and carry on with your-"

"Shut up," he said.

"...Huh? What did you-" Ultear was then bitchslapped by Jellal, causing her to deactivate her magic and causing her sword to vanish.

"I SAID SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

"I-I don't understand... why are you acting like this, Jellal-sama...? That stuff Natsu said... about me tricking you into becoming the man you currently are... you don't _believe _that, do you? I only started fighting because my identity as a member of Grimoire Heart was going to be exposed; the trickery was a complete lie!" In response to this, Jellal punched Ultear in the face, breaking her nose.

"Do you have _any_ idea what _you_ caused, Ultear? For eight years, I walked the path of darkness because of _you._ For eight years, I cut my friends off from the world and forced them to build that wretched tower because of _you! _For eight years! I made Erza suffer! BECAUSE OF YOU!" Before Ultear could say anything, Jellal activated Meteor and kicked Ultear towards the ceiling, her body smashing right into it.

"I'm not done!" As she fell, Jellal jumped up and punched her towards the left wall. This time, though, he elbowed her towards the opposite wall before she hit the left wall, then kicked her to the ground before she hit that wall. In the air, dark energy began to form in Jellal's hand as he pointed it at Ultear.

"CEROOOOOOOO... OSCURAAAAAS!" A massive black beam was fired at Ultear's barely moving body.

"I-Incredible..." Erza said.

"Natsu..." Lucy said to the Dragon Slayer, "did you _really_beat him in the first timeline?"

"Yeah..." Natsu said weakly, "but... if he was this angry then... I don't know if I could've won..." Jellal then floated down to the now bloody Ultear, who was trying to crawl to the door, and deactivated Meteor.

"Still alive, huh?" Jellal asked in a deadpan manner. "We can't have _that,_now can we?" He proceeded to slam his foot on her back, stopping her crawl and making her cough blood. "Die." He slammed his foot again. "Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. DIE!" With each "Die," Jellal added more force to his stomp.

"Jellal!" Natsu yelled. "You're going too far!"

"She doesn't have to die!" Gray exclaimed.

"DIEEEEEEE!" As Jellal got ready to stomp on Ultear again, he was stopped by a very important person slapping him.

"Erza?!" Lucy exclaimed. "When did she get over there?!"

"That's enough, Jellal," Erza said. "It's over, now. Please... no more..." At this point, Erza was crying out of _both _eyes.

"Erza..." Jellal said. "I... I..." He looked around the room and then down at Ultear's sorry state. After that, he fell to his knees and wailed.

_It didn't go the way I thought it would, but step three of Operation: "Save Jellal" is done,_ Natsu thought to himself. _Step four, though... that's gonna be tough..._But before Natsu could think anything else, everyone attention suddenly flew to a voice from the halls yelling, "I'm going, and that's final!"

"But, sir," Org's voice said, "shouldn't you be getting more rest?"

"I'm fine; I only vomited twice today."

"That's not fine!"

"Org-san, a coup d'état was just attempted, and you _don't _want me involved in dealing with it?"

"Well..."

"Stop being so stupid!" The doors to the courtroom swung open. "If anyone has the right to punish those who abuse magic, it is I!" The people in the courtroom(except Ultear, who had lost consciousness) all turned their heads to see the people who had appeared: a large sum of Rune Knights, the entire Magic Council, and a young-looking man leading all of them.

"...The hell is this?" The man said.

_GREAT..._ Natsu thought in gratuitous English. _I didn't plan on the _Chairman _of all people showing up... this just got harder..._

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Well... that was intense! Will Erza and Jellal get their "Happy Ends?" What will Natsu do in step four of his master plan? What's so bad about the mysterious Chairman of the Magic Council being here? And... the most important question of all... you all hate me for a cliffhanger like this, don't ya? :)**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	10. Natsu Dragneel: Ace Attorney

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

His name is Absoliutus Teisingumas, 108th. Chairman of the Magic Council. He stood at slightly above average height, wearing a pure white shirt and pair of pants and a yellow jacket that covered only half of his torso; on the back of the jacket was written, in English, "MAGIC is ABSOLUTE." White hair adorned his head that stretched down to the end of spine in a braid, and atop his head lay a small ahoge. His eyes were a dark orange that took one look around the room and sent a message to his brain that made his mouth utter, "...The hell is this?"

"Who is this guy?" Gray asked.

"Absoliutus Teisingumas, the 108th. Chairman of the Magic Council." Natsu responded.

"That guy?!" Lucy exclaimed. "I thought he'd be an old man!"

"He only makes himself _look_ like one when doing work; off duty, he sometimes looks like that."

_So how old _is _this guy, exactly?_ Lucy thought to herself.

"...Org-san," Absoliutus started, "what's happening here, exactly?"

"Umm..." Org responded.

"Figures. Give me a minute." The young Chairman put his right index finger to his temple and simply stood there for thirty seconds before saying, "So that's how it is."

"That's how what is?" Gray asked. "Is he saying he knows what just happened?"

"He must've used Telepathy to read our minds and learn everything that happened in the last few minutes..." Natsu said.

"Alright, then! Knights, arrest Ultear-san... no, wait, it's _kun_ now; arrest Ultear-_kun_!" A few Knights moved to Ultear's unconscious body, handcuffed her, and dragged out of the room; Gray, Erza, and Jellal looked at the scene blankly. "And now..." Absoliutus pointed at Jellal. "Siegrain-san... no wait... not only that, but it's really 'Jellal...' take Jellal-kun, as well."

"What?!" Erza exclaimed, squeezing the hilt of her blade with so much force, her hand started to bleed.

"Relax, Erza-kun, your boyfriend will be alright... for _now._"

"B-Boyfriend?!" Erza stammered with a blush.

"He's _not _her boyfriend!" Gray yelled whilst taking his shirt off.

"Not now, Gray!" Lucy yelled, giving him a chop. "And keep your clothes on!"

"Regardless," Absoliutus said as Jellal was cuffed and walked out the door, "at the moment, Ultear-kun is to be sent directly to 'Fly Trap,' our maximum security prison; Jellal-kun, however, will be put into a holding cell for now."

"What?! Why?!" Org asked. "Those two are criminals! They should both be incarcerated at once!"

"True, Org-kun, but there's a reason why I can't do that. Wanna know what it is?" He then teleported right behind Natsu, making him and his friends jump back a bit. "This guy, Natsu Dragneel-kun, re~~~~~ally wants to save Jellal-kun, and with desire to this degree, I can't turn a blind eye at all! It's too interesting, and that's my favorite word! Therefore, I declare that we shall have a trial to determine the fate of that man! Would you like that?! Natsu Dragneel-kun?!"

"Hell yeah!" Natsu exclaimed. "I'm all fired up!"

"Then let's start!"

"Right! But first... I need to get changed; this outfit doesn't really say 'lawyer.'"

* * *

Five minutes later, the courtroom was repaired and the trial was set to begin. Natsu's team were all sitting in the stands along with the Magic Council sans the Chairman, who was going to be the only judge for this. When asked who would be the jury, Absoliutus responded by making nine clones of himself that sat below him. Now, they were just waiting for Natsu.

_Sure is taking his time..._ Absoliutus thought to himself. "Hey, Erza-kun, Lucy-kun!"

"Yes?" They asked in unison.

"Which of you has the bigger boobs?"

"...Excuse me?" Erza asked.

"WHAT?!" Lucy screamed.

"Just curious after seeing the two of you in such attractive outfits. Mind if I guess who has the bigger ones? And if I'm right, can I touch them to make sure?" At this point, Gray was holding back both of the females to stop them from killing the Chairman.

"Please don't be so perverted, Chairman Teisingumas!" Org pleaded.

"All men are perverted, Org-san, but what makes you a real man is coming to terms with it." As that "philosophy" sunk in, the doors flung open as Natsu walked in. "There you are."

"Natsu!" Lucy, Gray, and Erza said with a smile. That smile, however, soon faded when they saw how he was dressed. Natsu still had his scarf, but he now wore a blue suit, white shirt, and red tie. His hair had now also been reshaped to have multiple spikes pointing away from him.

"Sorry, but this is the only way to dress for these things." He then walked to the stand.

"Natsu... you know what you're doing, right?" Gray asked with a sweat drop.

"Of course; when it comes to being a lawyer, you just need one word." Natsu took a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to his friends.

"'Objection?'" Erza asked as she read.

"Yeah, but you also gotta shout and point; like this." Natsu stuck his right index finger out and shouted, "OBJECTION!"

_We're doomed..._ Lucy thought with a facepalm.

"So you know the secret lawyer technique, eh, Natsu-kun?" Absoliutus asked. "I guess you'll be tougher than I thought."

"Tougher!" A clone yelled.

"Tougher than he thought!" Another clone yelled.

_Well..._ Lucy thought to herself, _maybe the Chairman's stupidity will balance things out... _We now go to the trial.

* * *

"Chairman Absoliutus Teisingumas," Natsu started, "you wish to throw my client, Jellal Fernandes, in jail because of his leading of the Tower of Heaven's development and attempted firing of Etherion under false pretenses, correct?" Absoliutus nodded. "While that _does_ make sense on the surface, if you did that, you'd be an idiot."

"Watch your mouth, brat!" Org yelled.

"OBJECTION!" Absoliutus shouted, pointing at Org. "Those in the stands are not allowed to speak!"

"Not allowed!" A clone said.

"Not allowed to speak!" Another clone said.

I'm _supposed to do that..._ Natsu thought to himself.

"So, Natsu-kun..." The Chairman began. "You say that that would be a stupid thing to do, correct? Why is that?"

"Under the guise of 'Siegrain,' Jellal gained quite the reputation and was very popular. If you arrest him, you'd have to go public with everything that went on here. Once the people hear about it, they'll lose all faith in the current government, meaning that you'd have to tear it down and start over from scratch."

"Hmmm... if that happened, they probably wouldn't want most of the current people to stay, and I'd be the first one to get kicked out. What's your alternative to this, then?"

"We blame it all on Ultear." Everyone had a look of surprise on their faces at that statement.

"Sure, from what I got from reading your minds, Ultear-kun is responsible for Jellal-kun's fall, but how do we blame her for this? Also, why would _her_ being blamed not cause strife?"

"Yeah!" A clone yelled.

"Why wouldn't it?!" Another clone yelled.

"It's quite simple, Chairman. Ultear Milkovich has only been on the Council for a little over a year, and prior to that, she did absolutely nothing publicly noticeable; in other words, the woman has made no true impression in the minds and hearts of the masses. If you make Ultear the martyr, there'll be much less public backlash than there would be if a well-known person like 'Siegrain' was made out to be the criminal."

"But Natsu-kun, you forget that, after all of this, we can't _possibly_ keep Jellal-kun on the Council; you've given a good reason for the absence of Ultear-kun, but what do you expect us to say for 'Siegrain-san?'"

"You'll say this!" Natsu Requipped a paper airplane and threw towards a clone.

"I got it!" The clone said.

"It's mine!" Another said, pushing the first out of the way. As they fought, a third one caught it.

"TOUCHDOWN!" The third clone said while moonwalking.

"Boooo!" The first two said in unison. The clone that caught the paper airplane then unfolded it and read its contents aloud.

"'Several days ago, Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich was discovered to be a member of the infamous Dark Guild Grimoire Heart and leading the planned usage of a hidden R-System to revive the Black Mage Zeref. Before this could be accomplished, however, Councilman Siegrain discovered her plan, led a fleet of Rune Knights to the Tower off the coast of Caelum to stop the operation and engaged the traitor in battle. In the end, Ultear Milkovich was defeated and arrested, but Siegrain, unfortunately, died in order for this to happen. Even though his life is no more, his bravery and heroism shall forever live on and be a reminder to all of us of what it means to fight for the greater good.'" The clone reading started to cry. "WAAAAAAH! Siegrain! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"That didn't happen!" Another clone said as it karate-chopped the crying one in the back of the head.

"This is the story you'll put in the paper tomorrow," Natsu said to Absoliutus. "Not only will it cover both of their absences, but by having 'Siegrain' 'die saving the world,' the Council will gain a ton of respect from everyone!"

"'Respect,' you say?" Absoliutus asked, rubbing his chin. "That wouldn't be so bad."

"Yup," a clone responded.

"Not bad one bit," another clone said.

"But there's one thing still left unaccounted for, Natsu-kun: Jellal-kun himself. You've covered the person of blame and what we'll tell everyone, but what about Jellal-kun, himself?"

"That's the easiest one, Chairman. My client, Jellal Fernandes, shall become a member of Fairy Tail!"

"What?!" The Council members in the audience yelled(except for Yajima: he just chuckled).

"Jellal... join Fairy Tail...?" Erza uttered.

"OBJECTION!" Gray yelled, pointing at Natsu.

"Overruled!" Lucy yelled, summoning Virgo who knocked the wind out of Gray, asked for punishment, and went away when it was denied.

"Moving right along from _all_ of that," Natsu said, "that's what we do with the actual person. While he's a member of our guild, he'll be under the constant surveillance of me, Erza, and our master. He can only leave town for work, and he must do at least seven Jobs a month; if he doesn't work, doesn't do everything necessary for whatever Job he's taken up, or acts in a manner that any of the three aforementioned people find too dangerous, he will be immediately arrested and taken into custody. Also, if anyone asks for his appearance to be explained, we simply say that he's Siegrain's younger twin brother who was abroad for the last eight years. That is all."

_Wow! _Lucy thought to herself. _Natsu really _is _amazing!_

_He really has changed..._ Gray thought to himself. _To think that we gave him silent scorn for it._

_This can work! _Erza though with a smile. _Like this, Jellal can be saved. Like this, destiny can be changed. Like this... I can get my "Happy End!"_

"No," The Chairman said in a deadpan manner, making all the Fairy Tail mages receive looks of despair.

"...What did... you say?" Natsu asked.

"I said 'no.' Jellal-kun is a terrorist, and he will be treated as such. That is the reality for those who abuse magic in this world."

"Indeed," a clone said.

"What a harsh reality this is," another said. Natsu looked like he was going to say something, but before he could, an Erza yelling "YOU BASTAAAAAARD!" Requipped into her Purgatory Armor and charged at Absoliutus.

"4, 2," he said, directing the apparently number clones to protect him. The mentioned clones jumped from their seats, kicked Erza in the face, and put her in a Niku Lap(google it if you don't know what it looks like), effectively subduing her after the move went through.  
"I bring order to an otherwise chaotic world, Erza-kun. Did you think that a simple S-Class mage such as yourself could defeat me?"

"You..." Erza started as the clones dropped her to the ground and she went back to her Heart Kreuz armor, "from the very start... you never planned on freeing Jellal, did you?"

"Indeed, I didn't. I merely listened to what Natsu-kun said because it seemed interesting. After the last thing, though, I judged the interest level to be quite small, so there was no point in pretending to be open to any of it anymore."

"So you'll just act as if we never even came here?!"

"That's right."

"If you do that, there'll be massive backlash with the general public!"

"That's right."

"The Council will be rebuilt, and you won't be in it!"

"That's true, but I can protect this world even if I'm not the Chairman."

"Won't you please just listen to reason?!"

"'Reason?' You want me to give mercy to a terrorist dark mage and call that 'reason?!'" While saying this, Absoliutus had a very menacing tone. "I have no mercy for those who abuse magic! Nothing will change that, and if something does, it won't be the tear-drenched words of a filthy mage such as yourself!" The entire room, minus Natsu and the Council, were shocked to hear such things.

_This is why I didn't want the Chairman around;_ Natsu thought to himself, _despite governing the magical world, this guy, for some reason, absolutely _hates _mages! As soon as he came in, this all basically failed. Even so, I won't let my friends down! They decided to believe in me, and now, with this final gambit, I'll show them that that was a good idea! _"Chairman Absoliutus Teisingumas!"

"What, Natsu-kun?"

"I have one more thing to add to what you can do as an alternative to sending Jellal to jail!"

"And that is?"

"You can see tomorrow." Everyone except the Chairman gasped at this.

"...Are you saying that if I don't comply, you'll kill me?"

"You said it, not me." The two adversaries simply stared at one another for a minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes. They stared at one another, getting ready for any sort of move the other would do. Then, after twenty minutes, Absoliutus broke the silence with his favorite word: "Interesting."

"?"

"Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. ...INTERESTING! You've got real balls, Natsu Dragneel-kun! Dragon Slayer, right? Did you make a wish on your 'Dragon Balls' for this to happen?! GUFWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAAA!  
"Alright, then! Consider this me leaving Jellal's sentence for a later date and him getting parole. However! Natsu-kun! Erza-kun! And Makarov-san back at Magnolia! You three shall be his parole officers, and you better not get soft on him, ya hear?!"

"Ya hear?!" All the clones shouted.

"At this moment, I, Absoliutus Teisingumas, 108th. Chairman of the Magic Council, declare Jellal Fernandes-kun innocent so long as he follows Natsu Dragneel-kun's preset conditions! Case dismissed; bring in the dancing lobsters!"

* * *

A good walk away from the courtroom, Jellal Fernandes sat alone in his holding cell, contemplating his life.

_This whole time..._ he thought to himself, _this whole time, I thought Zeref was speaking to me... that... he wanted me to help him bring about "paradise." But that was all a lie; a lie fabricated by Ultear for who knows why, and like a fool, I believed it. Like a fool, I turned to darkness. Like a fool, I put my friends through pain and suffering. Like a fool... I made Erza cry in agony..._

_And?_ A new voice said in Jellal's mind. He looked ahead and saw the illusion of someone who looked like a younger version of him.

_Y-You are...?!_

_You've done some bad stuff, Jellal, so what'll you do to make up for it? End your life as an apology?_ Jellal gave a small nod to the apparition. _That's no good, Jellal. If you die, then all you've done won't be forgotten; it'll still be there, but all that changes is you being dead._

_Then... then what am I supposed to do?!_ As Jellal thought this, he started to cry.

_Live. Live and do _good _instead of _bad. _Your sins will remain, but if you do enough good, no one will remember the bad, or even care for it. If you have nothing else, live for the day that that happens, okay?_

_...Am I allowed to...? After everything I've done... am I allowed... to do something like that...?_

_Sure! No matter who you are, you always have the right to repent. ...Oh! I know another reason why you should do it!_

_?_

_That pretty lady with the red hair would be sad if you died, right?_ Jellal blushed at this and turned towards the door which, at that moment, was opened by a Rune Knight.

"...You're free to go..." he forced out of his mouth. He picked Jellal up by his arm and made him walk.

_Thank you... Siegrain,_ Jellal thought to the illusion.

_Don't mention it, little brother!_ The apparent apparition of Siegrain then vanished.

* * *

Later in the building, at twilight.

"Sir, I still don't feel that you should've done that," Org said to the Chairman.

"It's fine, Org-san," Absoliutus said back. "That guy was interesting after all. Come to think of it... Erza-kun was pretty interesting, herself, and not just because of the giant breasts." Org facepalmed to this. "Org-san... with this, there are now _two_ open spots, right?"

* * *

Away from the Council building, Natsu, his team, and "Team Jellal" were all gathered at Milkweed Beach. Shô, Simon, Wally, and Millianna were all standing in front of a boat, and in front of them was a Jellal performing Dogeza.

"I'm sorry," Jellal said. "I know words can't make up for everything I've done, but right now, they're all I can manage, and I'll use them again: I'm sorry, so please try to forgive me one day." After a few moments of silence, Jellal stood up only for his face to greet Shô's fist, knocking him to the ground. Despite that, however, Shô offered Jellal his hand.

"I think I feel a little better, now," Shô said as he pulled Jellal up. Jellal was then greeted by a group hug from Shô, Simon, Wally, and Millianna; they didn't forgive him just yet, but they were at least able to move on from it.

"I think we should be going now," Simon said.

"Where will you go?" Erza asked.

"To be honest, we don't have a set destination. However, we agreed to first go to what's left of Rosemary; there's probably nothing, but we might find a lead on the whereabouts of my sister, Kagura."

"Good luck." Erza's four friends then got into the boat and sailed off, waving to the people at the beach.

"The sun has set," Jellal said.

"Yes, but soon, light will return to the world..." Erza said, grabbing Jellal's hand, "...just like it has for you."

"She liiiiiiikes him!" Happy whispered in Gray's ear. In response to this, Gray threw the cat at Natsu, making them both fall to the ground.

"Nice way to treat the hero, Gray!" Natsu yelled.

"You wanna go, man?!" Gray exclaimed while stripping.

"Bring it!" The two mages then started wrestling on the beach as Lucy laughed at her friends' antics. _Congratulations, Erza, Jellal! The two of you got them; your own "Happy Ends!"_

* * *

In another location, far away from the sweet scene that just transpired, a new, less enjoyable scene, was happening inside an airship.

"Master Hades!" Azuma said to his ancient master who sat in his chair. "We have a problem! According to one of our spies, Ultear was just arrested!"

"What?!" Meredy asked.

"How did _that_ happen?!" Zancrow exclaimed.

"Apparently, Natsu Dragneel learned of her true identity through unknown sources," Azuma responded. "When he exposed this, Jellal Fernandes heard it _and_ her involvement in his life, as well. He went berserk, and the damage to her is so severe that she'll be lucky to even _move_ again."

_Jellal...! Natsu...!_ Meredy thought to herself with a scowl. _Respectively, you bastards have become numbers 1 and 2 on my list!_

"...It matters not," Hades said.

"What?!" Meredy yelled.

"In terms of battle strength, Azuma and Rustyrose have already surpassed Ultear; she was only leader of the Kin because of seniority. Losing her won't impact us greatly, so we will let it be."

"How... how can you say that?! Ultear's been taken to jail, and you're not even upset?!"

"Of course I'm upset," Hades stood up from his chair. "In fact... I'm absolutely livid."

"Then why the hell are we doing nothing, you stupid old man?!" Meredy was then shot in both legs with magic bullets, making her fall to the ground and shut up.

"Because I'm not angry because of _Ultear..._ I'm angry because of Etherion not being fired!  
"Etherion is the most powerful space-time magic in existence; at the moment it would be fired, a disruption in space-time would have been created that would last _just_ long enough for us to get one of the 'keys.' Now, though, we have no way of doing such a thing, meaning Zeref can never be awakened, and my dreams can never be realized! That is why I'm angry!" As Hades exploded at the girl, everything stopped as a small, black orb was thrown in front of Hades and a shadowy figure appeared in front of him, as well.

"Take it," the figure said. "This is the 'key' Etherion would've helped you get, right? It's all yours, Purehito." The figure vanished.

"Master..." Azuma started, shaking a little, "that's definitely a 'key,' but how did 'that' get it? Also, it knew your true name... what _was _that?"

"Probably..." Hades said, picking up the orb, "that was the master of Tartaros... the man who set me on this path... and the 'Devourer of Hope.'"

* * *

**Fox: As one problem is solved, another continues. Jellal was saved from an otherwise sorrowful fate, but thanks to Natsu and friends, he was brought to light. Elsewhere, though, Grimoire Heart still manages to move along with their plans. Who is the master of Tartaros? What is his full connection to Hades? Will Jellal be readily accepted into Fairy Tail. Tune in next time to find out.**

* * *

**Fox: On a side note, congratulations to me for reaching the tenth chapter! Yay me!**

**Pie: Anyone can write ten chapters; it's not a big deal.**

**Fox: Who are you?!**

**Pie: I'm Pie.**

**Fox: "Pie?"**

**Pie: The username's "FoxOnPie," right? Well, I'm the Pie you're always sitting on, Fox.**

**Fox: NO FAIR! I WANNA BE PIE! CAN WE TRADE?!**

**Pie: No.**

**Fox: No fair! ...Anywho! Pie! You don't feel that this is an achievement, do you? What would **_**you**_ **call an achievement, then?**

**Pie: A hundred reviews.**

**Fox: Don't be so hasty! Something like that takes a while, especially when the story's not one of the many stories where Natsu replaces Lucy with Lisanna, causing her to leave the guild and fall in love with Sting, a person she's talked to for all of one second!**

**Pie: I also want fanart.**

**Fox: Listen to me, dammit!**

**Pie: A visual novel would be nice, too.**

**Fox: "Visual novel?!" What story do you think this is, **_**Kyon: Big Damn Hero?!**_ **Want something more feasible, Pie!**

**Pie: Finally... I want a page on Tv Tropes... or at least a mention in the fanfic recs.**

**Fox: ...I would also like that.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	11. Wait what?

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

A few days had passed since the events regarding Jellal, and Natsu's team had finally returned home along with their new addition.

"I'm glad we finally finished that surprise Job," Natsu said as they walked to the guild.

"Seriously, though, where _did_ those octopi come from?" Gray asked.

"Octopi..." Lucy mumbled, remembering something... unpleasant. "Can we all promise not to talk about it ever again?"

"What if someone wants to know?" Erza asked.

"We leave to their imagination..."

"Got it; it's a noodle incident," Jellal said.

"Aye!" Happy added.

"'_Noodle...?'" _Lucy thought to herself. "Let's just get back to the guild, o-... what the?!" At that exclamation, everyone looked in the direction Lucy was looking in to see Fairy Tail, but far different from what they remembered.

"What is this... I don't even..."

"Well... for now, let's just go inside..." Erza said meekly. When the six of them crossed the gate, they were not only greeted with some "Hellos" from fellow members(and a few glances at Jellal), but to a multitude of more changes: there was an outdoor cafe, a souvenir shop, a remodeled inside, new outfits for the waitresses, a pool, and a game room, to boot; their faces(except Jellal) expressed complete shock.

"This is the right guild... right?" Gray asked with a sweat drop.

_What's going on?!_ Natsu thought. _This is what the guild looked like when we came back in the first timeline, but that only happened because Phantom Lord destroyed it; there shouldn't be a reason for it this time!_ "Hey, Mira!" Natsu yelled towards the bar.

"Oh, hey guys!" Mira said back as she walked over to them. "Have fun on your trip?"

"What's up with the guild? Everything's different from how it was before."

"Oh yeah, you guys were gone all week, so you wouldn't know, but get this: Master won an extreme makeover for the guild!"

"'Extreme makeover?'"

"Yeah! It was first prize in the annual Guild Master Bingo Tournament! Some guys from the Carter Jimson foundation came and had it completely redone!"

"And those outfits for the waitresses were apart of it?" Lucy asked.

"Actually, those were of my own design!" Makarov exclaimed, popping in seemingly out of nowhere.

"Of course..."

"Hey... who's this man with you?" Makarov asked, looking at Jellal. "I want to call him Siegrain, but he died the other day!" At this point, a crowd had gathered around them as everyone was curious to learn the identity of this man who looked just like the "late 'Siegrain.'"

_Well..._ Erza thought to herself, _it's not like we would be allowed to hide it..._ "This is-"

"SALAMANDER!" A voice screamed, interrupting Erza.

"Hm?" Natsu muttered as he turned towards the source of the voice to see Gajeel. "Gajeel?"

"I've been waiting for you to come back, you son of a bitch!" Gajeel said as he walked towards Natsu.

"'Gajeel...'" Lucy said. "Isn't he the mage from Phantom you fought, Nastu?"

"Yup," Natsu said. "Whooped his ass good."

"You got lucky!" The iron Dragon Slayer yelled. It was at that point that Natsu saw that he was sporting Fairy Tail's blazon. "You joined our guild? Why?"

"Allow me to explain," Levy said from the crowd. We now go into a flashback to a few days ago.

* * *

"Where's Salamander?!" Gajeel yelled as he barged into the recently finished remodeled guild, sending a wave of silence through the building.

"You're referring to Natsu, right?" The master asked, walking up to him.

"Who else? I'm done with my training, and I'm gonna show that punk who's boss!"

"Well, he's not here; he and his team went on vacation."

"...You're kidding!"

"Nope," it was then that Makarov noticed the blazon for Phantom Lord on Gajeel's arm. "By the way, you do know that Phantom Lord's been disbanded, right?"

"What?!"

"If you don't have a guild to be in," Levy said, having entered the scene at some point, "why not join ours?"

"Why should I?" At that moment, Gajeel's stomach let out a loud growl.

"For one thing, _that_ doesn't need to happen."

"..." Makarov then motioned for Gajeel to come in for a whisper. No one heard this part, but you'll be reading it, anyway.

"If you do join," Makarov whispered to him, "I'd like you to help me out with something."

"What?" Gajeel whispered back.

"I need someone to infiltrate my rotten son's guild and tell me if he's up to something."

"'Infiltrate?' You mean be a spy, like James Bond and stuff?"

"Exactly! What do you say? Bitches love spies, ya know!"

"You got a deal, old man! Gee hee!"

* * *

"Since then," Levy continued, "Gajeel's come here everyday waiting for Natsu to come back; he'd wait upstairs, downstairs, at the bar, by the pool-"

"How do you know all of the places I waited for him?" Gajeel asked.

"...Huh?" Levy responded with a blush.

"Stalker!" Juvia cried out. Everyone then started saying a bunch of stuff regarding Gajeel and Levy, all of which made Levy feel embarrassed and made Gajeel want to punch someone.

"SHUT UP, YOU BRATS!" Makarov yelled, activating Titan to give his voice even more of a boom. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing. "If we're done with that," he said, returning to normal size, "I think we all want to learn the identity of your friend here." Everyone then looked back at Jellal.

"...I-" He began before Erza put her hand in front of his face.

"His name is Jellal Fernandes," Erza said. "He is the younger twin brother of the late Siegrain. For the last eight years, he was living abroad in the Albana Continent, but recently returned when he learned of his brother's passing. That... is what you are all required by order of the Magic Council to tell anyone who asks!" Erza's last sentence confused the crowd of people, and her Requipping large stacks of paper didn't help. "You are to have these contracts saying that you understand signed within two days; a breach of this contract will result in incarceration of at least one year." Lucy, Gray, and Happy then started passing out the papers.

"Wait!" Makarov exclaimed. "Who is this person really, then?!"

"..."

"Erza," Jellal said, "I wish to say this." Erza nodded her head. "My name really is Jellal Fernandes, but I am not the brother of 'Siegrain.' That man was a Thought Projection I created in order to infiltrate the Council and perform terrorist actions. However, since I was only doing such things because of former Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich, I have been allowed to go free on the grounds that I join Fairy Tail and remain under constant surveillance." The guild was stricken with complete silence, and upon nearly everyone's face was either a look of fear, anger, or some combination of the two. "Makarov," he said, looking at the old man, "there are some specific things _you_ need to hear; would you like to do that now?"

"S-sure," he said back. The two of them then walked towards the back exit of the guild.

"Hey, Gajeel," Natsu said, "you wanna fight, right? Can we save that for tomorrow?"

"Yeah..." he responded, "air got _real_ heavy." Natsu then followed Makarov and Jellal out. The crowd then dispersed.

"This is ridiculous," someone whispered.

"We've let some questionable people in, but a _terrorist?!_" Another whispered.

"This is crazy," a third person whispered. "If Laxus didn't like the way things worked _before..._" Erza simply stared into the mass of people talking about Jellal and followed the other three out, holding back her anger.

* * *

"So this 'constant surveillance' stuff..." Makarov started, "how will it work, exactly?"

"In all honesty," Natsu said, "we don't need to watch him 24/7. Whenever one of us three are around, we just need to make sure he doesn't do anything bad."

"And if he does?" Erza Requipped a red Lacrima with four small crystals sticking out of the top.

"This is a 'Distress Lacrima,'" she said, handing it to the master. "If one of us judges Jellal to be acting up, we simply press each of the crystals sticking out of it," Jellal then picked up his shirt to reveal a black mark that looked like the symbol for the Magic Council. "Afterwards, this mark will turn red, cancel out his magic, and send a beacon to all nearby Rune Knights for him to be arrested. This will also happen if he goes a month without doing at least seven Jobs or does questionable actions during a Job."

"Is that all?"

"Yes..."

"Well..." Natsu started, "if we're done here, I'm heading home; I wanna be well rested for when I fight Gajeel again." Natsu then walked away.

"Jellal..." Erza started, "we should try to find you an apartment before it gets too dark."

"Yeah..." Jellal responded. As the two turned and started to walk away, though, Jellal was tapped on the shoulder by an extended arm of Makarov.

"Stay back for a second," he said. The Heavenly Body mage walked back to Makarov.

"Jellal... I think you should know that Erza has told me the full 'history' that you two share."

"...I see..." Jellal said.

"I can't speak for anyone else in the guild, but I won't hold it against you; you're a member of Fairy Tail now, so whatever you've done in the past doesn't matter, as far as I'm concerned. However..." Makarov used Titan on his arm and threw a punch at Jellal, stopping mere millimetres away from his face, "that girl is like a daughter to me, and she cares a great deal about you, so if you _hurt_ her again in any way, you won't be _able_ to hurt her a third time, got it?!"

"...If I can avoid doing anything... it will be that..."

* * *

The next day, the whole guild was gathered outside to see the fight between Natsu and Gajeel.

"You can do it, Gajeel!" Levy, party of one, shouted.

"1,000 Jewels on Natsu!" One person shouted.

"5,000 Jewels on Natsu!" Another person shouted.

"A hundred quid on Natsu!" Happy shouted.

_What's a quid?_ Lucy thought to herself. In a noticeably empty corner of the crowd stood Jellal and one of the only people willing to be near him: Erza.

"So..." Erza said to her companion, "where's your blazon? What color is it?"

"Gray and on my back," he answered. "I noticed that no one is over here."

"Yeah..." Erza felt very sad about this. She knew that Jellal would be happier if everyone accepted him, but because of his past, he was being completely ostracised. Was there anything that could be done to change that? For now, let's go to the fight.

* * *

"I hope you trained hard, Gajeel," Natsu said, "'cause I'm not gonna hold back."

"Glad to hear," he replied with a smirk.

"There's a cloud covering the sun; we'll start as soon as it passes." As the mages waited, they stared intensely at one another, most likely thinking of what move they should do three moves from now. Then, the cloud finally moved away from the sun, and they charged at one another, each delivering the other a punch that sent them back.

"Karyū no Tekken!" Natsu shouted, throwing a fist of fire at Gajeel. His opponent, however, dodged and kneed Natsu in the stomach.

"Tetsuryū no Uroko!" Gajeel shouted, his body becoming covered with steel scales. He then gave Natsu a quick jab to the face before unleashing a full flurry of punches that sent Natsu flying into the wall.

"We just put in that wall, dammit!" Makarov yelled.

"Guess that's that, then," Gajeel said, deactivating his scales. "That'll teach you not to mess with the great Gajeel-"

"A towel!" Natsu shouted, getting up.

"! What?!" He turned to see the aforementioned scene.

"A _towel_ gets wetter as it dries! You don't know how long I've been trying to figure that out, man."

"How?! How can you get up?!"

"...You punched me."

"Yeah, well... they were really hard punches..."

"Not as hard as my dick!"

"Wait, what?!"

"When I fucked your girlfriend~!" Everyone in the crowd then turned towards Levy.

_Why is everyone looking at me?!_ She thought with sweat drops.

"You're definitely tougher, Gajeel," Natsu said, "but!" He then ran right in front of Gajeel and dealt him a German Suplex. "You still ain't good enough to take me down!"

"Why, you...!" Gajeel then jumped back onto his feet. "Tetsuryūkon!" His arm turned into a club that shot out at Natsu. Natsu, however, dodged with relative ease.

"Karyū no Yokugeki!" Natsu's arms became clad with fire as he hit Gajeel with them, knocking him into the air.

_Perfect!_ Gajeel thought. "Tetsuryū no Zangeki(Iron Dragon's Slash)!" Metal rods jutted out of Gajeel's right arm as he kicked the air with enough force to launch himself at Natsu and land a punch with the aforementioned arm, knocking him back.

"Red Bind!" At that moment, a rope of fire entangled Gajeel, making movement seemingly impossible. Then, Natsu crossed his arms and made a giant ankh of fire in front of himself. "Crossfire Hurricane!" The ankh was launched at Gajeel.

"I ain't done yet!" Gajeel shouted, somehow managing to break out of Natsu's Red Bind. "Tetsuryū Totsuga(Iron Dragon's Fang Thrust)!" Gajeel's arm became metallic with his hand forming a reptilian head. He then stretched his arm through the hole in the ankh, managing to clamp down on Natsu's arm and throw him into a wall at the same time Gajeel was hit by Natsu's attack and knocked into a tree.

"Hey... Gajeel..." Natsu said, getting up with heavy breathing, "wanna call it... a draw?"

"I'm fine with stoppin'..." Gajeel said in the same state as Natsu, "but don't pity me with a draw..." The two mages then walked in front of each other. "Even though I've made more hits, you've done way worse damage than I have, 'specially with that last attack; it's my loss, Salamander."

"Yeah, but the strength you've gained in just a month is awesome!" Natsu extended his hand. "I'm fired up for the day you actually beat me!" Gajeel then grabbed Natsu's hand.

"I'll be sure to 'steal' the show that day! Gee hee!"

* * *

Later that day, the guild members were back inside relaxing in their usual manner when the main door suddenly flew open, revealing the form of Fairy Tail's "favorite" S-Class mage.

"Gramps!" Laxus shouted.

"Laxus!" Makarov shouted back. "Where do you get off kicking in my door like that?"

"Actually, I didn't kick it. I just looked at it and it opened for me. I'm Laxus Dreyar, I can do that sort of thing."

"...Anyway, why are you mad _this_ time? Did a puppy not die when you smiled at it or something?"

"I'm _mad_ because of the recent addition of trash to our guild! I could tolerate those Phantom punks a bit, but a _terrorist?!_" In another part of the building, Erza looked like she was going to do something, but Jellal motioned for her not to. "I know that no one outside the guild knows that, but it's still so damn annoying! It's because of stupid stuff like this that Fairy Tail's a joke _and_ why I fired my parents!"

"Laxus, you did NOT fire your parents! Your mother died, and I kicked your father out of the guild!"

"Yeah, _after_ I fired them!" Laxus then turned his body into lightning and appeared in front of his grandfather in a flash. "I'm tired of your crap, gramps! You're retiring and making me the new master right now! I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

"No."

"Curses, foiled again!" Laxus then turned away from Makarov. "My posse and I are gonna plan the massacre of the entire town now. I'm a billionaire, so nobody will even _think_ about pressing charges," he then walked towards the door.

"That Laxus kid needs to get laid."

"Big time!" Happy added.

"By the way, there's a frog outside," Laxus then completely left the building as the aforementioned frog walked in.

"Isn't that a messenger from the Council?" Lucy asked.

"Okay, you know what, I don't wanna deal with this now," Makarov said, walking up to the frog and handing him a blank check. "I don't know _what_ we did this time, but just write down whatever, okay?"

"I'm not here for that," the messenger said, taking the check anyway. "I'm here for business regarding Natsu Dragneel-san and Erza Scarlet-san." The two mentioned mages walked up to the front as the frog unrolled a scroll and read it. "'By official decree of the 108th. Chairman of the Magic Council, Absoliutus Teisingumas, the mages Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail and Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail are officially welcomed as members of the Ten Wizard Saints of the Symphonia Continent.'"

"Ah," Natsu and Erza said in unison. "...Wait... WHAT?!"

* * *

**Fox: I bet you guys didn't see **_**that **_**coming!**

**Pie: I bet they did; you hinted at it pretty well last chapter.**

**Fox: Shut up, Pie! Anyway, next time, Natsu and Erza have their induction ceremony, and they meet the other Saints to boot! Hope you're excited, 'cause I am.**

**Pie: One of us has to be.**

**Fox: Why, you!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	12. Movin' On UP to the Saints' Side

**Fox: Guess what, you lucky ducks? School was cancelled for me, so I have a three-day weekend! Starting with this double release, you may just see a ton more chapters!**

**Pie: Probably not, though.**

**Fox: Don't crush the hopes I created for no reason, Pie!**

**Pie: Also, "double release?" Is **_**that**_ **the reason this chapter's so late, or are you just slow and lazy?**

**Fox: ...Disclaimer time!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time on FTR(Fairy Tail Redux for those not well versed in acronyms), Natsu and Erza were just told that they had been made into official Wizard Saints of the Symphonia Continent. This was clearly something truly important, so the two of them were doing the only logical thing: grinning like idiots.

"'Wizard Saint' Natsu, eh?" Natsu said with a silly grin. "That sure does have a ring to it~~!"

"I've never said anything about it," Erza said with an identical face, "but I've always wanted recognition for all my hard work. But for _this_to happen! The dice have definitely all rolled 'sixes!'" The two giddy mages then started laughing as if the room was flooded with laughing gas; to further illustrate this, they laughed so much that it got hard for them to breathe, thus stopping their temporary idiocy.

"Anyway," Natsu said, getting his breath back, "why did the Chairman decide to make us Saints, anyway?"

"Well," Erza started, "all the things _I _do have become well known throughout the country, and since we just lost a Saint from Fiore, they probably felt a good replacement would be another famous mage from the same country?"

"That covers you, but what about me?"

"Think about it, Natsu; what's the Chairman's favorite word, again?"

"'Interesting?'"

"Exactly! In the entirety of Chairman Teisingumas' leadership of the Magic Council, no one has ever been able to change his mind about something except for _you. _This is probably his way of rewarding you for being able to catch his attention."

"So, what you're saying is, I'm awesome, right?"

"I guess... that's _one _way of-"

"Good enough for me! When're we getting inducted, anyway?"

"...Saturday, the 10th., in the Era's Silverleaf Convention Center."

"Cool, can't wait 'till then; I'm all fired up! ...Wait... Era?! We were just there, weren't we?! Is he trying to piss us off, or something?!" Nothing important happens after this, so we shall fast forward.

* * *

It is now the Saturday of that week, and everyone is excited for Natsu and Erza's induction. They were allowed to invite anyone they wanted, so they invited everyone in the guild, and everyone came. Well, almost everyone. Jellal felt that it would've been better not to return to Era so soon after all of that, so he stayed behind, Gajeel didn't go because he simply didn't feel like(Levy "coincidentally" said she had a cold when she heard Gajeel wasn't going), and Laxus stayed behind because he apparently had to flaunt his wealth at some homeless people... yeah.

The regular guests were allowed to dress casually, but the Saints and guests of honor had to dress fancy. Makarov was dressed in his regular Wizard Saint attire while Natsu and Erza had some new outfits for the occasion(though Natsu's trademark scarf remained). Natsu wore a white suit with a shirt and red vest underneath, along with a green bowtie and black-and-white checkered hat with the checkers in a diagonal pattern. Erza wore a sleeveless red dress that went down to her knees adorned with white frills; underneath the collar was a diamond-shaped opening where she had placed a red jewel. The dress had an upside-down "V" opening in the front with the tip starting a little under the jewel, revealing a black undershirt and pinkish skirt. She also wore long, red boots, black socks that went up to just below her skirt, detached white sleeves, big black wristbands, and a ponytail made with a black ribbon.

"Your outfit's cooler than mine..." Natsu said with annoyance.

"Not my fault," Erza said to him. She then picked up an apple from the food table. "Want some?" Natsu shook his head, so Erza ate it herself.

"So, not counting the master, where are the other Saints?" Lucy asked the two of them.

"They'll be here;" Gray said to them, "they are all coming from various places across the entire continent, after all."

"Aye!" Happy added. At that moment, the door to the room opened, and in walked a bald man who was familiar to only Natsu.

"Jura!" He shouted.

"Natsu Dragneel..." Jura said, walking over to him, "we haven't met before, have we?"

"Ah!" Natsu cursed himself for slipping up like that. "Well... no, but... um..."

"He's heard stories of you," Erza said, covering for Natsu as soon as she figured out that this had to do with time travel stuff. "I have as well, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed her head in respect with Natsu doing the same after regaining his composure(and taking off his hat).

"There's no need to be so formal," Jura said. "This is _your_ night, after all; if anything, _I _should be bowing to _you._"

"I'm not stopping you," Natsu said after putting his hat back on and before receiving a chop from Erza.

"By the way," he took an envelope out of his pocket, "a girl by the name of 'Juvia Lockser' is in your guild, right? One of my juniors, Lyon, asked me to-" before he could finish, though, a blue blur shouting "LYON-SAMA!" snatched the envelope and disappeared to somewhere else.

_Just what does she _see _in that guy?!_ Gray thought with a sweat drop. _Well, better she's obsessed with him than me._As Gray was doing some mental ship sinking, the door opened again, but it wasn't just a powerful presence let in, it was also a very intimidating one. "What the hell?!"

"Wh-what's with this magic?!" Lucy asked, shaking a little. "I feel like I'm being threatened, and I don't even know who it is!" The person who had entered then walked towards the little group centered around Natsu and Erza, giving them all a full view of the man. He was a tall, muscular, elderly-looking man with tan skin, a long nose, and a mark on his forehead that bore resemblance to a tiger that was underneath some sort of black crown. His hair was light in color, as evidenced by his braid, beard, sideburns, eyebrows, and mustache, but none were lighter than his eyes with pupils so small, they looked pure white. He wore a short, dark red kimono with only his left arm through a sleeve, sandals, a yellow sash, dark yellow pants sporting a line of black rhombuses on each leg, purple bandages on his right forearm, and a large, red rosary composed of twelve beads with the mark of the Saints on the bead that lay in the 6 o'clock position.

"I'm surprised that _you _showed up, Jiemma," Jura said.

"! You know this guy?!" Natsu and Erza said in unison.

"This man's name is Jiemma," Makarov said, entering the scene. "Not only is he a Saint, he's also the master of Sabertooth."

"'Sabertooth?'" Erza asked.

_That's like a grandpa cat, right?!_Happy thought to himself, his eyes gleaming at the prospect.

"I've never heard of-" before Natsu could finish, Makarov punched him in the stomach and brought his head down for a whisper.

"Listen, Natsu," he started, "Sabertooth is a weak and relatively unknown guild, but Jiemma is a man of pride so great that he becomes even more fearsome. If you say _anything _to offend him, I don't know how much I can do to protect you, got it?!" He then let go of Natsu.

"So... Sabertooth, eh? That's, uh... pretty cool...!" Jiemma just stared at Natsu, making him feel even more scared.

"...I merely came to assess the power of the new members," Jiemma said, finally speaking. "Admittedly, the two of you are quite strong. However! Your strength, and the strength of your guild, are not the least bit invincible! One day, Fairy Tail shall be considered a joke, and it will be Sabertooth that is the pride of Fiore!" He then turned from the group and walked out of the room.

"Well... you all enjoy your evening, now!" Makarov said as he left along with Jura.

"That was... just _terrifying..._" Erza managed to say.

"Terrifying..." Lucy, Gray, and Happy repeated.

"What _was _that guy?" Natsu asked. "He's like... some sorta monster!" Just then, a small bubble floated in front of Natsu's face and popped.

"Good thing Jiemma didn't hear that 'monster' comment," a voice said. Natsu and his team all searched for someone, but all they found was another bubble that soon popped. "If he heard that, you definitely would've died," the voice said again.

"Hey, wait..." Lucy started, "is the voice... coming from the bubble?" A third bubble appeared in front of Lucy's face before popping.

"Indeed," the voice said. "Turn around." The five mages turned 180 degrees to see a man wearing a dark blue cloak that covered his entire body and holding a yellow bubble wand. The man then brought the wand to the area his face would be if it could be seen and blew a bubble that floated to the group before popping. "My name is Klaus, one of the most enigmatic Wizard Saints of this continent," was said by the bubble. He blew another bubble that soon popped. "Nice to meet you all," the bubble said. Klaus then gave a small bow and walked away.

"What a weirdo!" Happy said when he was gone.

"You're one to talk!" Lucy and Gray yelled in unison, the latter stripping while saying so.

"Aren't all who walk the path of magic a little bizarre, though, woof?" A small, yellow dog with tiny black eyes and a vacant expression said as it walked onto the scene.

"A talking dog?!" The five of them exclaimed.

"My name is Spot, woof. Before you ask, I am not a sentinoid; I am a regular dog who gained extreme intelligence through a multitude of experiments, woof."

"You're pretty funny, woof!" Natsu said with a chuckle.

"Don't you do it, too, woof!" Lucy tsukkomied. "Damn it, woof!" As this went on, the Saint dog was staring across the room at, for some reason, Mirajane and Elfman.

"Do the Strausses interest you, Spot-san... woof?" Erza asked.

"...Maybe, woof..." As Spot left them with that foreshadowing, all the lights suddenly went off.

"What's going on?!" Natsu asked.

"It's pitch black!" Happy added.

"Who just grabbed my butt?!" Lucy yelled.

_Damn!_ Gray thought to himself. _I thought it was Erza!_

"Here comes a _real _weirdo, woof," the dog said. A spotlight then appeared in the center of the room, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!" A voice cried out. "I! HAVE! ARRIIIIIIIVEEEEEED!" A person then appeared out of nowhere in the spotlight, receiving the applause of many. It was a man with short shaved hair upon which a gold crown sat. He wore no shirt, revealing an impressive set of abs, but had a long, red cape that came down to the floor. On his lower body were royal blue pants with a katana on his left hip and a nodachi on his right, both with golden sheaths. Speaking of precious metals, his arms were aligned with a plethora of gold bangles, and a diamond necklace was worn snugly around his neck. Everyone watching seemed quite impressed with the spectacle, except for Natsu and Erza who asked, "Who are you?" At that moment, the lights came back on and the man ran over to the new Saints.

"You two... don't know me...?" He asked. Natsu and Erza shook their heads in response. "...I am the great HaōBaō! I am the king of the island nation of Caelum! I have become world famous for discovering thousands of rare magics and mastering hundreds myself! I'm one of the most important people in the world!"

"Sorry, never heard of you," Natsu and Erza said in a deadpan manner. If this were an anime, HaōBaō would've turned gray, become covered in cracks, and shatter; but it isn't, so he just had a look of shock.

"Actually," Lucy started, "Gray, Happy, and I haven't heard of you, either. We only applauded because what you did back there was pretty cool."

"Your opinions don't matter, dammit!" HaōBaō yelled as tears rolled down his face and he ran away from them.

"That guy cares a lot about what others think of him, woof," Spot said. "If someone doesn't cheer him up with flattery, he'll have a heck of a tantrum, woof. I'll do that, goodbye, woof," Spot then trotted away from them.

_We got a scary tengu, a silent bubble blower, a talking dog, and an attention-hungry king..._ Natsu thought to himself, _besides Jura and the old man, aren't there _normal _people in the Saints? _Natsu then turned to get some food when he bumped into a girl and knocked her to the ground. "Oh, sorry!"

"No, it was..." the girl began, "wait, aren't you... Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yeah." The girl then jumped up and gave Natsu a giant hug.

"YAY! I finally get to meet Natsu-kun!"

"Let go of him!" Lucy yelled.

"Okay," the girl said, letting go. We now go into her appearance. This girl was about Lucy's height and wore a sleeveless indigo blouse with a white collar and white lines running down it in alignment with where the nipples would be. Below her waist were faded grey jeans with the left leg cut off at the knee and pink shoes. She also had platinum-colored hair that hung down across the full length of her back(save for a pigtail on the right side of her head) and red eyes that looked only at the Dragon Slayer.

"I guess this genius should've introduced herself first."

"_Genius?" _Lucy thought.

"My name is Fuyu Navidades; I'm a Wizard Saint, 20 years old, and in my fifth year of leading the Bureau of Magical Development since its re-establishment in X779; it's really nice to meet you all!"

"Nice to meet you, two!" Everyone there, sans Natsu, said. Natsu, instead of saying anything, just stared at her.

"Um, Natsu-kun... can I ask for a favor...?" Fuyu asked with a blush

"What?" He replied, getting out of his apparent trance.

"Um... can I... I..." Fuyu then quickly pulled out a pen and a big piece of paper, "can I have your autograph?!" "What?" was what everyone's faces said. Natsu, still confused, wrote his name on it. "YAAAAAAYYY! I got Natsu-kun's autograph! This genius is so happy!"

"Glad I could help, I-"

"Hey, what's your favorite food?!"

"What? Anything on fire, I guess?"

"What's your blood type?!"

"...A+."

"What's your favorite color?!"

"...Red..." Fuyu then kept bombarding Natsu with question after question.

"What is _with _this girl?!" Gray asked.

"Fuyu Navidades-san is the world's number one Natsu Dragneel fan," a voice said. Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Happy turned to see the Chairman, Absoliutus Teisingumas. "Hey there, fairies, Erza-san."

"'San?'" Erza repeated. "Wasn't I 'kun' just the other day?"

"I only use 'kun' for people not connected to the government in some way; if you got a connection, I'll address you with 'san.' Anyway, what do you think of the Saints?"

"You're asking me now? Shouldn't that wait until the last one shows up?"

"Who? 'That guy?' He'd never come to something like this, so just tell me what you think of the nine."

"Well, and Natsu would agree with me on this... they're all _interesting _in some way."

"Glad to hear it! I like all the people close to me to be interesting," Absoliutus turned his back to Erza, "so don't you and Natsu-san get boring on me now. Kukukuku." He then walked away. Let's get back to Natsu dealing with his fangirl.

"Okay, Natsu-kun," Fuyu said to her idol, "now take the last question and throw in a coconut cream pie; what would do then?!"

"..." Natsu, clearly annoyed, grabbed Fuyu and brought her into the air. "SHUT UUUUUP!" He then threw the female Saint threw the air and made her land on an empty desert cart that, because of the sudden weight began to move.

"NOOOOO!" The cart then moved at incredible speed through the crowd of people until it was about to hit Klaus. Fuyu tried to say something, but she looked too sick to talk. As she barreled towards Klaus, however, a bubble formed around him that the cart bounced into, sending her flying through the air to be caught by Natsu bridal style, apparently annoying Lucy.

"Um... sorry about that..."

"I-It's alright, Natsu-kun! I shouldn't have annoyed you with so many questions; that's a mistake this genius won't make aga-" Fuyu's stomach then let out an unpleasant sound as she moaned.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine; I'm just no good with transportation."

"I know how that feels."

"Of course you do! That's a sign of how strong people like you and this genius have become!"

"What are you-" It was then that Natsu noticed a very peculiar thing about Fuyu: her canine's were abnormally long. "Your teeth... that stuff you said before... about 'people like us...' are you-" it was then that three of Klaus' bubbles appeared, the first burst and releasing the message, "Yes, Fuyu Navidades is a Dragon Slayer," and the second burst and releasing the message, "Specifically, she is a water Dragon Slayer." Natsu, and everyone in listening distance, had a face of complete shock.

"Klaus-kun! I wanted to say that!" The third bubble then popped as well, releasing the message, "By the way, Natsu, you can put her down now." Natsu, realizing that he was still holding Fuyu, quickly put her on her feet.

"So, Fuyu!" He said, feeling embarrassed. "You're a Dragon Slayer, eh? I didn't know there were any involved with the government."

"You probably wouldn't have;" she responded, her face containing a little blush, "we all have positions so high that common folk don't usually hear about us."

"Wait, 'we?!'"

"Yep! Including me, there are five Dragon Slayers connected to the government... but I've only met two of them. I'd introduce you, but I don't think you'd get along that well." As Natsu got ready to say something, Erza tapped his shoulder, signaling that the induction was about to begin. "Well, see you later, Natsu-kun!" She then turned and walked into the crowd.

"_Fuyu Navidades," eh?_ Natsu thought to himself. _I guess this night wasn't so lame, after all._

* * *

**Fox: As I finish writing this, I feel that it isn't as good as my other chapters. I apologise if this is true; I just wanted to get the Saints all introduced.**

**Pie: Yeah, about that... you know we're gonna lose a bunch of readers because you made Jiemma a Saint, right?**

**Fox: I had a good reason!**

**Pie: And that was?**

**Fox: I felt like it.*Pie facepalms* Bite me! Anyway, thanks for reading! With the next chapter, we get into the Fighting Festival, and I'm sure that'll be a hit as well!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	13. Matsuribayashi-hen 1: Betrayal?

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After his encounter with Fuyu, the apparent genius Dragon Slayer, Natsu and Erza got their medallions and were made into official Wizard Saints. Natsu stuck his onto his scarf while Erza put hers onto a Requippable bracelet. The next day, everyone was back at the guild, and Jellal was currently teaching Natsu and co. Telepathy.

_Natsu, I still can't hear your thoughts,_ Jellal said to Natsu with his mind. _You need to think harder._ Natsu mumbled something inaudible. _Just think about something that's made a strong impression on you or is fresh in your mind._

… Natsu thought to himself. He then started going through a multitude of thoughts. He thought of Igneel, but that didn't work. He thought of his friends, but that didn't work. Then, for some reason, he thought of Fuyu, and Jellal said to the new Saint, "I heard that."

_Yeah!_

_Congratulations, Natsu! You can use Telepathy now!_Lucy thought to him.

_Took ya long enough, though,_ Gray thought, _we've _been _done with that! _Natsu got a sad face after that.

_Don't ridicule him Gray,_ Erza said with her mind. _We all learn at our own pace. Say you're sorry._

_...Sorry._

_It's fine,_ Natsu thought back to him. _I'm not upset about finishing last; I'm upset because I remembered that _Happy _was the one who got it the fastest!_

_Aye, sir! _Happy cheered with his mind.

_Stupid cat._

_Well this stupid cat can use Telepathy better than all of you! ...Did I just call myself stupid?_

_By the way, Natsu,_ Jellal thought, ignoring Happy's question, _there's a mage here already good at Telepathy... "Warren Rocko," right? Why didn't you ask him to teach you?_

_We wanted you to teach us, Jellal, _Natsu responded with his mind.

_Nice to see who your _friends _are! _Warren said with his mind. When Natsu turned to him, though, he quickly turned away from the group of six and walked away.

_It's been more than a week since Jellal joined us, and no one's even _tried _to be nice to him,_ Erza thought. _I know he has a bad past, but he's a different person. I just wish that someone, _anyone, _could find it in their heart to forget about the bad stuff and accept him...!_

_It's alright, Erza, _Jellal said with his mind, making Erza realise that she forget to disconnect their mental link. _I don't expect your guild to warm up to me automatically... though companionship would be nice..._

_Don't worry about those idiots, Jellal!_ Natsu said with his mind. _Even if everyone hates you, the five of us will keep being your friends!_

_Not me, _Gray said with his mind.

_Gray! _Lucy exclaimed with her mind.

_Not nice! _Happy thought.

_Look, I helped keep him outta jail because of the stuff Natsu said, _Gray thought, _but after the crap he put Erza through, there's no way I'm gonna be _friends _with him!_

_Come on, Gray!_ Natsu exclaimed with his mind. _Will you just get over your massive crush on Erza alre-_Natsu was cut off by a block of ice crashing down onto his head.

_Sorry, I wasn't listening, _Erza thought. _What did Natsu just think?_

_NOTHING!_

_If it's alright with everyone, I'm going home, _Jellal thought as he got up from their table and walked out. As he did, Erza had a sad expression on her face.

_It'll be alright, _Natsu thought. _The Harvest Festival's Saturday, and a fun time like that will make everyone forget about this whole "we hate Jellal" thing!_

_I hope..._the female Saint thought back.

_Speaking of the Festival, _Gray thought, _what are we gonna do about that?_Gray was referring to, of course, the Fighting Festival. Because they asked for it, Natsu told Lucy, Gray, and Erza the gist of the events that would happen before December; Happy now knew, as well, having broken his rule about spoilers.

_We're going to do... nothing! _Natsu thought with a grin.

_Nothing?! _Lucy asked in her mind.

_During the Fighting Festival, a lot of important stuff happened regarding people in this guild; we _could _use our knowledge to stop it before it starts, but then those events won't happen, and things could change in a negative way! If we just do things basically as they're supposed to go, it'll be alright; trust me._

* * *

Four days later, things had gone in a similar manner to how they did in the first timeline at this point. Evergreen had turned the contestants of the beauty pageant into stone and Laxus started the "Battle of Fairy Tail."

"For those of you who don't know the rules of a battle royale, I shall now explain them to you in detail," Laxus said. "First, you have to be able to use magic."

"Boring!" Someone said.

"Who said that!? Who the f*** said that!? I'm warning you, I'm not going to start this tournament until somebody owns up! Now who said it?"

"Sorry. That was me. My bad."

"Get the hell out of my city." The unnamed person walked away. "Anyway, the last mage standing wins. Good luck; you'll need it! MWAHAHAHAHA! I'm rich!" Laxus and his posse then disappeared in a flash of light. After that, everyone stormed out in a manner similar to in the first timeline, but in this one, Fairy Tail's diminutive master was hitting Natsu.

"Dammit, Natsu!" Makarov yelled at him. "Why didn't you tell me this would happen?!"

"You said you didn't want spoilers!" Natsu yelled back.

"This seems like the kind of thing that would go against that, doesn't it?!" The master yelled back as he ran to the exit.

"Wait, stop!" And he did... after hitting Freed's barrier.

"What are doing, old man?!" Gray asked as he was still in the area.

"There's some sort of wall..." Makarov said, "this must be one of Freed's enchantments!"

"'Enchantments?'"

"The guy uses Jutsu Shiki to form barriers with specific rules to them," Natsu said, walking up to the exit. "For this one, no one who's a statue or over 80 leave... but I can take care of that!" Natsu then pointed his right index and middle fingers at the barrier as the tips glowed white. When they were fully illuminated, he moved them at rapid speed as orbs of light shot out from his fingers at the barrier.  
"My buddy Lahar's an expert at this stuff, so I asked him to teach me a while back! I'll have this taken down in 3! 2! 1!" Natsu's fingers stopped glowing.

"Alright!" Makarov exclaimed as he walked towards the outside. "Now it's time to teach that brat who's-" KA-BO-NK! Makarov walked right into an invisible wall.

"Why didn't it work?" Happy asked.

"...Maybe practice would've been good..." Natsu said.

"Of course, you retard!" The master yelled. "Now since I'm not leaving anytime soon, get out there and fight, Natsu!"

"Can't," Natsu put one hand on the barrier. "This enchantment blocks me for some reason; guess I'm an old man." _That _would _explain my connection to Zeref... to some degree...  
_

"Guess it's up to me to be the hero, then!" A voice said as its owner emerged from the bar while swallowing some metallic objects.

"You're an old man, too, Gajeel." _I wonder... is Gajeel connected as well?_

"Yeah, right!" He then ran towards the exit. "What kinda bullshit is-" KA-BO-NK! Gajeel hit the barrier head on. "Sonuva bitch!"

"I'm gonna go now..." Gray said, "is that alright..."

"Might as well," Happy told him.

"Oh, Gray! Watch out for alleyways!" Natsu yelled at him.

"Care to decode that message?" Gray asked.

"No."

"You suck."

* * *

_This is sooooo boooring!_ Evergreen thought as she walked through a crowd of people. _No one's been able to find me yet! Maybe I should just fly around and take down anyone I see..._As Evergreen contemplated this, seven points in the shape of a ladle appeared on her body, taking her by surprise. "Wha-"

"Minor Chariot!" A voice yelled, making beams of light appear and connect with the points, knocking Evergreen into a flower shop.

"The hell?!" She yelled, getting up and out of the mess. "Who has the nerve to-" she suddenly stopped when she saw the caster of the magic. "Ah, you must be the 'famous' Jellal!"

"Everyone!" Jellal yelled to the bystanders. "Right now, there is internal conflict amongst the members of Fairy Tail! If you value your lives, get as far away from the town as possible!" After several seconds, all the regular humans who heard Jellal ran from the scene, albeit in a panic.

"Aw, you made everyone run away! That's no fun!"

"Your name is 'Evergreen,' right? There's no need for conflict, so would you simply undo your magic?"

"Heh. A _terrorist _not wanting conflict; now that's rich! Ohhohohoho!"

"...I guess that means 'no.'"

"Of course! You can only win this game when the four of us are beaten, but there's no _way _that'll happen! You're going to lose and those girls will be smashed to pieces starting with Erza!"

"..."

"I've always hated that bitch; always acting like she's better than everybody, even calling herself 'Titania!' It's so irritating! I'm the true Queen of the Fairies, not that weakling!"

"..."

"Once this is done, I wonder if Laxus will let me personally break her apart?! That'll be fun, won't it?!" This time, instead of an ellipsis, Jellal responded by activating Meteor and giving Evergreen a swift knee to the face.

"You can talk about me all you want and I'll keep my cool... but if you talk bad about Erza..." Jellal then Requipped into his battle suit(A/N: From the manga, not that lame thing he wore in the anime), "don't expect me to control myself!"

"W-well... _this _is a surprise...!" Evergreen said, wiping blood from her nose. "But don't think you're hot stuff now, Jellal; even a _mouse_ can get angry, you know!" Dust then appeared around Jellal from seemingly nowhere. "Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Evergreen then triggered a massive explosion, but when the dust cleared, Jellal was gone.  
"What?!" The wannabe Fairy Queen then started looking around nervously. "I know that that couldn't have _disintegrated _him, so where is he?!"

"Gegenschein." A blackish yellow beam was then fired at Evergreen from behind, landing a direct hit and knocking her to the ground. When she got up, she saw a perfectly fine Jellal looking right at her.

"Okay, it's one thing to not be taken down, but how are you not even hurt?!"

"I used a spell called 'Descorrer.' It allows me to teleport from one location to another nearby, allowing me to easily evade such a pathetic attack."

"'Pathetic?!'"

"If I was fighting Erza, the _true_ Fairy Queen, I would've barely even had time for such a thing," he said with a menacing tone. "You think you're better than her, Evergreen? You don't even have the right to _dream _of her level!" At this point, Evergreen's fear was closing in on pissing of the pants, so she did the only "rational" thing in that situation: fly away.

"You won't get away," Jellal said, activating Meteor and following her.

_Too strong! _Evergreen thought to herself. _This guy's too strong! Why did we have to get such a strong guy _now?! _I only have one chance: I need to lead him into alley or something; there, he'll have nowhere to run, and I'll be able to petrify him!_

"Fireball," Jellal said. At that moment, the energy around him grew extremely bright as his speed increased and he ended up right next to Evergreen.

_You're kidding!_Jellal then punched her into an alley, breaking a few wings in the process. As she barely got up, Jellal floated down in front of her. "I-I've got you now, Jellal! There's nowhere to run now!" She lifted up her glasses. "Stone Eyes!" Evergreen waited for something to happen, but nothing did. "What?!" She then took a good look at Jellal and saw that his eyes were closed.

"In case you're wondering, I closed my eyes the second you flew off; this whole time, I've been following you through magic sensing."

"N-No way! That takes too much concentration to use during battle! It's impossible!"

"'Impossible?'" A blue energy sword then materialized in Jellal's hand. "That's an odd thing to say, because last I checked..." he then gave Evergreen a multitude of slashes, "Fairy Tail was all about doing the impossible, seeing the invisible, touching the untouchable, and breaking the unbreakable." Jellal's opponent then simply fell to the ground defeated. The victor then turned away from her and walked away when he saw that there was a spectator. "...Elfman..."

"I just came by at the end," he said. "Nice job! That was totally manly! Now the girls'll be alright and we don't have to fight anymore! Let's head back to the guild!" Elfman then turned to head back, but that was a mistake, for as soon as he did, Jellal delivered a powerful slash across his back.

"Sorry... but there's something I need to do... and your defeat will make that possible."

"M-...man..." Elfman fell to the ground, defeated in one blow.

"Now then... who else should I fight?"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: JELLAL. WAT R U DOIN? JELLAL. STAHP.**

**Pie: So Jellal's going on a homicidal rampage, eh? Nice plot twist, Fox.**

**Fox: He's not killing people! There's a reason for this!  
**

**Pie: ...I still like it, but it'd be better if he **_**was **_**homicidal.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	14. Matsuribayashi-hen 2: Goal

**Fox: It finally happened! FTR was recommended on TV Tropes!*Opens champagne bottle***

**Pie: I finally feel like a real story's been written.*Wipes tears away***

**Fox: Are you crying?**

**Pie: No! I'm just... sweating through my eyes!**

**Fox: AWWWW! Hug me, brother!*Hugs Pie***

**Pie: ...I'll allow it...*Hugs back***

**Fox: Now the only thing we need is a page of our very own! You! Tropers reading this! Get on that! Everyone else, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After Evergreen's defeat at the hands of the now questionable Jellal, the petrified girls were freed from her spell.

"What happened?" Levy asked.

"Juvia thinks we were stoned," Juvia said.

"And turned into statues, too!" Mira added.

"...What?" Cana asked with a sweat drop.

"Well... remember those brownies from the backstage that I told you all _not _to eat, but you ate anyway? Well..." As Mira talked about her apparent drugging, Lucy and Erza made their way to Natsu, Happy, and Makarov(Gajeel had gone back to the bar).

"So, Natsu," Lucy said to the Dragon Slayer, "who was the one that defeated Evergreen? Was it Gray or something?"

"...About that..." Natsu started, sweating a little, "this is a sorta 'good news, bad news' situation. The good news is that Jellal's the one who took down Evergreen."

"Really?!" Erza exclaimed with a smile. _This is great! Jellal can use something like this to build a better relationship with the guild!_

"The bad news is... he's attacking everyone within five feet of him; right now, he's taken out 11 different people..."

"Dammit!" _What the hell, Jellal?!_ "But why would he do this?!"

"Yeah, Natsu!" Happy said. "From the stuff you told us, the good Jellal wouldn't attack people for no reason(By the way, Makarov knows that Natsu's team knows about the time travel stuff)!"

"Regardless," the master started, "we need to figure out the reason for such behavior. Thankfully, with Evergreen taken out already, we don't need to worry about Laxus' 'game' anymore and can focus solely on Jellal."

"You think so, don't you?" An arrogant voice said. Everyone turned to the center of the room to find Laxus' Thought Projection standing in the middle.

"So just because there are no more more hostages, you wanna ignore the rule about fighting everyone and stop, eh? Just like a bunch of cowardly bitches. Good to know my Battle of Fairy Tail rules were completely ineffectual."

"Hey, I ain't trying to quit!" Natsu yelled.

"You're not even in my tournament, Natsu."

"Ah-bah-dah-nyeah?!"

"Anyway, to keep you all doing what I want like good little migrant workers in the employment of a rich fellow such as myself, I've activated the 'Thunder Palace.'"

"'Thunder Palace?!'" Everyone then ran outside to see what Laxus was talking about.

"Are those Lightning Lacrima in the sky?" Gajeel asked.

"They've encompassed the entire town!" Mira exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you'd still need twice as many to encompass my ego!" Laxus' Thought Projection snarked. "If there ain't only one person left within an hour and ten minutes, the entire town gets fried! Oh, and don't you losers think about destroying them, 'cause they've been loaded with Organic Link Magic, as well!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea..." Freed's voice said, coming from a Lacrima attached to Laxus' collar.

"Shut up, talking collar."

"Man, a talking collar," Lucy said. "As if his coat wasn't bad-ass enough."

"It's like he's wearing K.I.T.T. from _Knight Rider_," Happy added.

"Dammit, Laxus, come out and fight me, already!" Makarov shouted. "I brought you into this world, and I'm going to take you out of it!"

"You do remember adopting me, right?" the Thought Projection asked. "Ivan is your biological child, and I'm your grandson."

"Already playing mind games, eh, Laxus? You always were a chip off the old block. And by old block, I mean me."

"You're a buffoon."

"I can make up words too, you know!" The Thought Projection then vanished. Makarov then clutched his chest. "Everyone! Go kick Laxus' ass. I'd do it myself, but I think I'm having a heart attack. Yes... yes, it's definitely a heart attack. Um... help, by the way."

"Anyway," Natsu started, "since Jellal's magic is punishing all without distinction, it'd be better to move in a group."

"Help!"

"Unfortunately, Gajeel and I can't leave for some reason."

"Help!"

"Levy, we need you to undo Freed's enchantment on the building," Levy nodded her head and went to get her books.

"Help?"

"As soon as she's done, we're finding Laxus, and _we're _gonna screw _his _rules!"

"Help?!"

"But what about Jellal, Natsu?" Erza said with a bit of melancholy.

"Help your master, brats!"

"Laxus is more of an issue right now;" Natsu said, "we'll deal with Jellal when we're done with that."

"Why won't anybody help?"

* * *

_So Laxus whipped out the "Thunder Palace," eh?_ Bickslow thought to himself as he looked up at the sky. _Guess Evergreen got taken out early._

"Hey! Bickslow!" Gray shouted, blasting Bickslow with his Ice Make: Saucer. "Quit spacing out and fight, BABY!"

"Don't mock me!"

"Don't mock him!" Bickslow's dolls shouted.

"Now that you've made me mad, it's time for my ultimate attack:" the Seith Magic user did an about-face and ran, "running away~~!"

"Get back here!" Gray went into immediate pursuit of Bickslow, who was laughing like an idiot, but stopped when he went down an alleyway. "An alleyway, huh?" Natsu's message of "Watch out for alleyways!" came up in Gray's head, giving him an idea.

* * *

"Okaaaaaaay... where the fuck is Gray?!" Bickslow yelled to no one. "I've been doin' this split for ten minutes; the holder of my future babies are on fire!"

"Then maybe you should put some 'ice' on it!" A voice yelled.

"What?!" Bickslow turned his head to see Gray on a rooftop. "When did you-"

"Ice Make: Anvil!" An anvil made of solid ice came crashing down onto Bickslow's head, knocking him directly to the ground and revealed an enchantment; at the same time as this, his dolls collapsed.

"My babies!"

"So... that barrier makes it so you can't use magic, eh? I'll have to thank Natsu later, but for now... Ice Make: Brionac!" Gray then fired a giant, elongated spear of ice with a tip shaped like a six-pointed star at Bickslow, defeating him instantly. "That'll teach ya, BABY!" _These guys ain't so tough; I bet I could take them all! What would Erza say if I did? What would she _do_?! _"...That'd be nice~~~."

"Well don't _you_ have the dirty mind, Gray," a voice from behind him said.

"!" Gray turned around to face who it was. "Jellal? What are _you _doing here?"

"...24."

"?" Jellal pointed his sword at Gray.

"24 people have fallen before me so far. Would you like to be #25?" Gray, instantly understanding that he was out for blood, got into a fighting stance.

"Ice Make:-" but before Gray could call his attack, Jellal hit him with four super fast slashes. _W-What the hell?! I didn't even see him move! I knew it, though... I knew he was a rotten bastard!_ Gray then collapsed onto the rooftop.

"..." Jellal activated Meteor and jumped off to somewhere.

* * *

"Oh, no!" Happy shouted, looking at the enchantment display board. "Jellal just took out Gray!"

"What?!" Natsu, Lucy, and Erza shouted in unison.

"Dammit, we only have a little under an hour left!" Natsu yelled. "At this rate, we're not gonna have time to deal with _both _of these things!"

"But why is Jellal doing this, Natsu?" Lucy asked. "Didn't you say that Jellal was a good person? Why is he attacking all our friends?!"

"I don't know... I just don't know..."

_Jellal..._ Erza thought to herself, _you have gone back, right? Back to the Jellal I knew as a child? Back to the Jellal who gave me light in the darkness? Back to the Jellal that I...why, then? Why are you creating another situation... where we have to fight one another...?_ No one saw it, but tears began to form in Erza's eyes. Later, nearby Kardia Cathedral...

* * *

"I can sense Laxus' power in that cathedral a few blocks away," Jellal said to himself. "Soon, I should be able to-"

"Dark Écriture: Pain!" Jellal jumped from where he stood, avoiding having runes put onto his body. He then turned to see the green-haired man who cast the spell.

"Freed Justine, I presume?"

"Yes, and you must be Jellal Fernandes, the star of the Battle of Fairy Tail."

"'Star?'"

"You _have_ defeated more people than anyone else; I believe you're at 32 now."

"...Is that so...?"

"Tell me, 'terrorist:' did you actually _care_ when you struck them down? No... your face probably lacked anything _resembling_ an emotion."

"..." Jellal took his sword and got into a fighting stance. "Why don't you tell me after I strike you down?" He then jumped at Freed and performed a slash, but Freed blocked it with his own sword.

"You're good with a sword," Freed said, turning into runes and teleporting behind Jellal, "but not good enough!" He gave him a vertical slash, but Jellal parried it. "Dark Écriture-" Before he could finish, Jellal delivered a slash to his chest, making Freed drop to one knee.

_What the hell?!_ Freed thought to himself. As he did, though, Jellal cut him on his left arm. _His slashes... it feels like each one is _stealing _my strength!_ Jellal then motioned for another slash, but Freed blocked with his sword. _E-Even blocking drains me..._ "Dark Écriture: Explosion!" Runes appeared on the ground by Jellal's feet, causing a small explosion to knock him away a little and let Freed get some distance. "This man is dangerous! He could even harm Laxus! I need to take him out, or at least weaken him!" Freed then made runes appear on his own body. "Dark Écriture: Darkness!" The mage then transformed into a grotesque monster(A/N: I'm using its appearance from the manga) and jumped right at Jellal to deliver a powerful punch, knocking him into a tree, though he looked relatively unfazed.

"Not bad," Jellal said. "You truly are one of the best mages in Fairy Tail, Freed Justine. To honor such power, I won't claim victory with regular slashes; I shall use one of the techniques passed down throughout my people for generations."

"Enough talk! Die!" Freed ran at Jellal, but Jellal ran at him as well with two hands gripping the handle. Eventually, the two ended up with their backs to one another.

"Mildeajin Mahō Kenryū(Mildean Magic Sword Style)..." a vertical slash appeared on Freed's body that covered the length of his entire body, "Daishinkan(Great Dragon Shock)!" Freed's transformation wore off as he collapsed to the ground. "You probably don't have the strength to look at my face, so I'll tell you what kind of face I'm wearing: one of sorrow for having to do this to all of you," he then started to walk to the cathedral. "For the sake of my 'goal,' you all must fall, but after that... I'd like to start over..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: In the next chapter, Jellal's true goal is revealed, and a certain MYSTerious fellow shows up! Go on and read it!  
**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	15. Matsuribayashi-hen 3: Happy Jellal

**Fox: Raise your hand if you were annoyed by the temporary crash thingie!*Raises hand***

**Pie: It really was dreadful.**

**Fox: But now, what was once two chapters on their own has become a double release! Banzai!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After defeating Freed, Jellal had made his way his way into the cathedral and came face-to-face with Laxus.

"'Bout time you showed up," Laxus said. "I gotta congratulate you, Jellal; you're the only one who's been playing my game right by actually going outta your way to take people down! Even though you don't have money, I'll let you stand at my side once I'm the new master."

"I have no intention of doing so," Jellal said, pointing his sword at Laxus, "and you will not become the master of Fairy Tail. Only one thing shall happen today: you shall be defeated."

"I agree," a voice sounding exactly like Jellal's said, startling the both of them. The two mages turned towards the door to see Fairy Tail's most enigmatic member, Mystogan.

"Well, look," Laxus said, "if it isn't Doflamingo?! Or, rather, another Jellal!" Jellal was confused by this, though apparently not the "Doflamingo" thing.

"...I guess there's no point in hiding it..." Mystogan took off his mask and revealed a face that looked exactly like Jellal's.

_What?!_ Jellal thought with sweat drops. _Is that... no, he's definitely dead. But then... who _is _this?!_

"So you losers gonna come at me together, then?" Laxus asked, sparks flying all around his body.

"No, Laxus," Mystogan started, "I shall fight you alone."

"What?!" Jellal yelled. "Look, I don't know _who_ you are, but the only one fighting Laxus is me!"

"Even if I did let you fight him, you wouldn't win."

"And why's that?!"

"Because you have no desire to fight him."

"?!"

"You say you wish to fight him, but defeating Laxus is merely a part of a larger 'goal' of yours. It might not have been an issue with the other people you fought, but if you go up against someone like Laxus only thinking of what will happen _after, _you won't win."

"...But then..."

"Don't worry, your 'goal' can still be accomplished, just in another way."

_My "goal..."_ Jellal thought to himself. "...I'll leave Laxus to you, Mystogan!" Jellal ran out the building.

"There are only ten minutes until the town gets fried, Mystogan," Laxus said. "Wouldn't he being here have been helpful?"

"Yes, but not necessary," Mystogan said. "I can handle you on my own. Prepare to witness a form of magic you have never seen before."

"Excellent! But... not here. Let's fight on the roof as a homage to _Clerks._"

"...Okay, I guess?" Later, on the roof...

* * *

The two S-Class mages stood across from each other on the roof, ready to fight. Then, with no signal, Mystogan threw his five staves into the roof.

"Skyscraper," he said, trapping Laxus inside of an illusion that was soon broken.

"Huh," Laxus said. "Well that was just weird. I should probably cut down on the drugs." It was then that Laxus noticed five magic circles above his head.

"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song!" A giant energy beam was fired at Laxus, but at the same time, Mystogan was knocked into the air by a blast of lightning from below. He made some hand movements to manipulate the ground around Laxus, but he converted his body into lightning and dodged. Afterwards, Laxus tried to shock him, but Mystogan turned into mist and avoided it, reappearing back on the roof.

"Tch..." Laxus said, regaining physical form. "Not half bad, are ya?"

"I am an S-Class mage, after all."

"But can you really call yourself that, Mr. Slider? Aren't you just here killing time when you're not doin' stuff with the Anima?"

"...I don't need to justify my being here to someone who doesn't even care about bonds."

"'Bonds?' _This _from the guy always hiding his face?! That's almost as rich as me!"

"..."

"Now watch, Mystogan..." a circular mass of electricity appeared underneath Laxus, lifting him into the air, "as I put a shock to your system!" He then fired multiple lightning bullets from his hand.

"Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water!" A magic circle appeared in front of Mystogan, reflecting the bullets. Unfortunately for Mystogan, Laxus dodged by moving out of the way with his electric disc and then charged right at Mystogan.

"Eat it, nerd! Optical Fiber Lariat!" 24 electric rods came out of Laxus' forearm as he dealt a lariat to Mystogan's neck, electrocuting him on impact.

"GUH!" Mystogan quickly grabbed his fan staff and blasted Laxus, but he flew away before it connected. _I won't be able to hit him if he keeps flying around..._ Mystogan thought to himself. _Time to use heavier stuff._ "Hadōsāfā(Wavesurfer)!" With Telekinesis, the staff with an eye moved under Mystogan's feet and became covered in water as it lifted him in the air after Laxus, the other staves following with more Telekinesis.

"Hino!" Laxus, turning to Mystogan whilst flying, fired an electric bird straight ahead, but Mystogan managed to avoid it.

"Kūshū no Bakugeki-ki(Air Raid Bomber)!" He swiped the air with his fan staff and hit Laxus with a blast of wind, knocking him into a pillar. "Kūshū no Bakugeki-ki!" Mystogan sent another blast of wind at his opponent, but he managed to move out of the way.

"Kiten!" Laxus sent an electric tiger at Mystogan, but he managed to dispel it with ease. This, though, was a trick so Laxus could get right in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Gotcha now!"

"...I wonder..." Laxus was confused, but that faded when he saw that the fork staff was in Mystogan's hand and coated in a large mass of circular light.

"BRING IT, BITCH! VARIIIII!"

"Teru Kanadzuchi(Shining Hammer)!" Simultaneously, Laxus was hit by Mystogan's staff with tremendous force and Mystogan was zapped with a large amount of electricity, knocking them both to the roof and causing their means of transportation to vanish.

"You really are something... Laxus..." Mystogan said, getting up.

"Same for you..." Laxus said, getting up as well. "Whenever people asked which of us was stronger, I always laughed at that... but you truly are incredible. It makes me positively ecstatic to be having this fight with you. I may even do a twirl later once all this is over...and when nobody is looking. If it's like this..." Laxus took off his shirt, "I can't help but go wild, right?!"

_Obviously, he's powering up..._ Mystogan thought to himself, _but why did he have to take his shirt off? _As Mystogan questioned the reason for the shirtless scene, Laxus' canines elongated and scales appeared on his arms and his canines elongated. "Wait a minute, did you just activate Dragon Slayer powers out of the blue?"

"Yeah, so?"

"That's against the rules, isn't it?"

"Screw the rules, Rairyū no Hōkō!" Laxus fired a giant blast of lightning from his mouth.

_Crap!_ "Niji Kakuchū(Rainbow Prism)!" A multi-colored rectangular prism appeared around Mystogan to block the blow, but it eventually broke and he was knocked off the roof. "Kūshū no Bakugeki-ki!" He sent a blast of wind at the ground to lessen the impact of the fall. "To think... he would have something like this..." Mystogan said, slowly getting to his feet. "If I didn't block it as much as I did..." As he assessed Laxus' strength, the man in question jumped down from the roof right in front of him.

"Now do you understand why you can't win? It's because I'm Laxus freakin' Dreyar! I've got you on your last legs, and now it's just a matter of time until the 'Thunder Palace' activates and-"

"Hey, look, all the Lacrima are being destroyed," Mystogan interrupted. Laxus looked up into the sky and saw what Mystogan had said.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

* * *

"Don't you think we should be a _little _concerned about the master's health, Natsu?" Lucy asked as she, Natsu, Erza, Happy, and Gajeel had finally exited to find Laxus(The girls opted to stay at the guild with Makarov).

"He'll be fine," Natsu said.

"But Porlyusica-san said he was gonna die!"

"Just a senior moment."

"'Senior moment?!'"

"Look, Kneesocks-"

"Who's 'Kneesocks?!'"

"the old man'll be fine! Let's just find Laxus and try to take him down in one shot, 'cause if we don't-" at that moment, Natsu's attention became focused on a limping Gray. "Gray!"

"Oh... hey Natsu..." Gray said weakly. "Jellal really did a number on me, and from what I can gather, the same goes for a lot of the guild."

"..." was Erza's response.

"The Council gave you a Lacrima or whatever to use when he starts acting up, right?"

"I know what you're asking, Gray," Natsu started, "but we need to find the reason for his behavior."

"I'll give you a reason: the guy's bad news! We never should've trusted him, and now we're paying the price!"

"Hey," Gajeel said out of nowhere. "What's up with those Lacrima? They're blowin' up or somethin'." Everyone looked up to the sky to see what Gajeel was talking about.

"What the hell?!" Natsu exclaimed. "How is this... is that a _person _in the sky?"

_A "person?" _Erza thought to herself. _Who could it- wait, it couldn't be!_ She immediately Requipped a telescope and saw what she had wished she didn't see. "JELLAL!"

* * *

In the air, Jellal, clad in Meteor, was going around in a circle and destroying each Lacrima he came into contact with, either oblivious on unconcerned about the Organic Link magic.

_297, 298,_ he thought to himself, _299, 300, 301, 302..._ he stopped moving as he came around full circle to where he started. "That should be all of them. ...3. 2. 1." Jellal was then blasted with a huge amount of electricity, knocking him out and sending him crashing towards the ground.

* * *

...Luckily, though, Erza managed to catch him thanks to her Flight Armor.

"JELLAL!" She yelled to him, returning to her Heart Kreuz Armor. At this point, the rest of the group had caught up.

"I can't believe he destroyed every single Lacrima on his own," Gajeel said. "He sure knew how to go out like a boss."

"He's not dead!" Natsu yelled. "He's still got magic in him, so he's still alive! But he could die so need to get him help!"

"I think Erza's got that covered..." Happy said. Everyone then turned to see Erza giving Jellal CPR; Gray was _not _happy.

_I am _not _happy!_ Gray exclaimed in his mind.

"I would've taken him to Porlyusica, but..." Natsu started as he saw Erza give Jellal a particularly long kiss, "...you can stop pretending now, Jellal." Erza removed her lips from his mouth and saw that his eyes were open.

"...Hello..." Jellal said.

"You... you... IDIOT!" Erza yelled, punching Jellal with a blush. "What were you doing attacking everyone?! And why did you almost kill yourself back there?!"

"...I had my reasons..."

"Dude, you really need to pick..." Natsu started before noticing the sword in Jellal's hand. "Wait... is that what I think it is?!"

"If you think it's something, then it probably is." Natsu then erupted with laughter.

"Man, I had a feeling, but you really _are_ related to Sieg Hart, aren't ya?!" He then kept laughing.

"What's so damn funny, Salamander?!" Gajeel yelled.

"What, you all call yourself mages and don't recognize that sword?!" Natsu then pointed to it dramatically. "That sword is none other than the magic sword 'Tickover!'"

"'Tickover?!'" Lucy exclaimed. "You mean the magic absorption sword that Sieg Hart used to take the magic of everyone in Mildea, allowing him to fight Haja the Infinite for seven days straight?!"

"EXACTLY!" Natsu said in gratuitous English.

"So..." Gray started, "this whole time, you've been absorbing our magic, Jellal? Why?"

"To fight Laxus," Jellal said weakly. "I knew if I wanted to beat him, I would need as much power as I could get, but I guess I ended up using it all defensively to lessen the damage from the Lacrima..."

"You couldn't have _told _us?"

"Given the way I'm treated... no one would've listened to such a plan..."

"But _why_ did you even come up with such a plan?!" Erza asked. "Why did you want to fight Laxus on you own?! Why did you destroy the Thunder Palace by yourself?! Why were you doing such crazy things?!"

"Because! …..." Jellal mumbled something.

"What?" Jellal mumbled again. "I can't hear you." He mumbled a third time. "Speak up, already!"

"I WANTED EVERYONE TO LIKE ME, OKAY?!" The entire group was dumbstruck at this comment.

_Didn't see _that _coming!_ Natsu thought with a sweat drop.

"This whole time I've been acting like everything was fine... I've been lying. The truth is, I feel miserable being in this guild. Because of the stuff I did in the past, no one even wants to give me a chance, so I thought if I beat Laxus... and then saved the town... I could be a big hero and become friends with everyone at long last. But still... isn't it ridiculous that I have to risk my life to become friends with everyone?! Doesn't my past not matter anymore compared to my future?! Isn't that what it means to be in a guild?!"

_You're right!_ A voice said in Jellal's mind.

_...Mirajane Strauss?!_

_You've been trying to become a better person, but we never even let you, Jellal! For you to go to such lengths..._ it now sounded like she was crying, _we're sorry! Please forgive us!_

_Juvia is sorry too! _Juvia said.

_Let's get a drink sometime and make up! _Cana said.

_Sorry if we were jerks to you!_ Levy cried. Soon, the voices of the entire guild started flooding into Jellal's head, though some were people angry about losing to him.

_What's happening...? _Jellal thought. _Did Erza... use Telepathy to broadcast all of this to the guild? I can't believe it... I... I..._

_It's nice, huh? _Siegrain's apparition said as it appeared out of nowhere. _Having friends is nice, isn't it, little brother?_

_...Yeah..._ tears began to roll down Jellal's face as he smiled. "It's a beautiful thing... being happy..." As Erza heard this, she immediately hugged the man who had finally attained his desired friends.

_It's nice that no one hates Jellal anymore;_ Natsu thought to himself, _I can finally relax some more. ...Relax... lax... Laxus..._ "Crap! I FORGOT ABOUT LAXUS!" Natsu then immediately ran towards the cathedral.

"Happy..." Lucy began, "why didn't he just have you fly him to where he was going?"

"He's not very smart..." Happy added.

"Come on, Jellal," Erza said, putting his left arm on her shoulder, "we need to get you to Porlyusica-san."

"Let's go, Mr. Daredevil!" Gajeel said, propping Jellal's other arm on his shoulder as the group, sans Natsu, headed back to the guild.

"By the way... thank you Erza," Jellal said.

"For what?" She asked.

"? Didn't you use Telepathy to make everyone hear what was going on?"

"No."

"Lucy?" She shook her head. "Happy?" He shook his head. "Natsu was probably only thinking of how at risk my life was, so that just leaves..." Jellal slowly turned his head to the only person left, albeit someone who doing so wouldn't make sense: Gray Fullbuster.

"...I still don't like you that much..." Gray said, "but so long as we're in the same guild... we should try to get along..." Jellal simply smiled at this. Now, let's head back to Mystogan and Laxus' action-packed fight!

* * *

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUU-" was what Laxus was saying.

"Um..." Mystogan uttered.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

"Wait, what am I doing?!" Mystogan pointed his skull staff at Laxus.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

"Konran Hebi(Chaos Snake)!" An elongated beam was fired out of the staff, blasting Laxus into the cathedral. "Give up, Laxus, you have no cards left to play; any way of you becoming the master has disappeared."

"No... there's one way left..." he said getting up, "the most obvious way:" electricity exploded around him, "force." Before Mystogan could do anything, Laxus was right in front of him with a hand on his chest. "Rairyū no Izutsushi(Lightning Dragon's Lightning Palm)!" A huge jolt of electricity was sent through Mystogan's body.

"GUAAAAAAAH!"

"Rairyū no Kagidzume(Lightning Dragon's Claw)!" Laxus dealt the staff mage a devastating electric kick with his left leg, knocking his opponent into the air.

"Rairyū nooooo...(Lightning Dragon's...)" Electricity formed all around Laxus as he jumped straight at Mystogan and hit him with his shoulder, "Den'atsu Torikumu(Volt Tackle)!" The resulting impact sent Mystogan straight into the wall, but as before, he still got up.

"I gotta say, Mystogan, you sure can take a hit."

"..." was his response.

"What's the matter? Run out of quips? Cat got your tongue? No more words to fail?!"

"..."

"You think that because it's taken me so long to take you out that you're _better _than me?! Laxus Dreyar?!"

"..."

"Well, you're not! I own you! I own your home! I own _my_ home! In fact!" Laxus then began to invoke Fairy Law. "Fuck my home!"

"Sorry, I zoned out for a second there, what did you say?" The ultimate spell was then activated, but much to Laxus' surprise, it killed no one. "Did... did you miss?"

"How could I miss?!"

"I don't know; how did you?"

"I know I used the spell right! God, this _always _happens when I try to perform under stress."

"Or maybe you like everyone more than you let on."

"Maybe you should just DIEEEE!" Laxus fired a bolt of lightning right at Mystogan, but he swatted it away with his fan staff.

"I can't die, and I especially can't lose to you."

"Why are you so goddamn persistent?!"

"Because... this situation... is so familiar, it's scary.  
"I don't know how much you've learned about my world, but it is one that is fueled by chaos. The limited amount of magic makes the king... my father... constantly steal magic from Earth Land, and use it to expand his own territory. In short, the desire for power has corrupted my world, and that is what is happening with you! I haven't abandoned destroying the sad reality of Edolas, so I won't abandon destroying the sad fate you are trying to put upon yourself!"

"SHUT UUUUUUUP!" Laxus ran in for a punch, but Mystogan dodged it.

"But there is another reason:" he blasted Laxus with an energy blast from his fan staff, "Fairy Tail embodies the world I want to create, so I won't allow you to harm it!"

"Then just try to already!" Laxus put his hands together at the wrist with the fingers arched and the palms facing Mystogan. "Metsu Ryū Ōgi(Dragon Slayer Secret Technique)! Ōgumo: Hakurai(Giant Cloud: White Lightning)!" A giant blast of white lightning in the form of a dragon was fired from Laxus' hands towards his opponent.

_Laxus... for Fairy Tail's sake, for your sake... here... you SHALL fall!_ Mystogan lifted the three staff into the air as two red orbs materialized and flew into it. Afterwards, he threw it into the the ground, causing three magic circles to appear around it. "Sanmiittai Seigen(Trinity Limit)!" With that yell, a giant wave of light was released that, as soon as it collided with Laxus' dragon, destroyed.

_This... can't be! I... I lost!_ Laxus then gave a little smirk. _Guess I still got a lot to learn._ The light struck him point blank, and Laxus was down for the count.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	16. Matsuribayashi-hen 4: Trap

**Fox: Finally, the conclusion of Matsuribayashi-hen! Thank you to all who stuck with it~!**

**Pie: I'm quite looking forward to it. Will Takano and the Yamainu manage to kill Rika? Will Hanyuu be able to help make a miracle? Will Keiichi act more like a protagonist and do something?**

**Fox: Pie... that's a different "Matsuribayashi-hen..."**

**Pie: Mii?**

**Fox: Also, the Oración Seis arc might take awhile to start up; I'm going to re-read it so I can completely remember what happens.**

**Pie: Normally I'd scorn you for laziness, but that's smart.**

**Fox: Thanks! With that said, disclaimer time!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"Alright, Laxus!" Natsu yelled as he ran into the Kardia Cathedral. "Time for you to face the power of the new and improved-" he suddenly stopped when he saw Laxus unconscious and Mystogan just standing there, "huh?!"

"Oh, Natsu," Mystogan started. "You're probably a bit curious about why I look like Jellal. There's actually a good reason; you see-" Mystogan, however, was cut off by Natsu delivering him a powerful drop kick.

"MYSTOGAN, YOU BASTARD! I WANTED TO BEAT LAXUS!"

"So... you don't care about my face...? It's actually an interesting tale."

"Yeah, yeah, you're Jellal from another universe; don't really care." _I can't believe he beat Laxus, both because of me not thinking that was possible _and '_cause _I _wanted to do it! I was gonna use all my new moves and stuff and it woulda been super special awesome!_

"...How did you know I came from another world?"

"...What?" _CRAP! I let some of my future knowledge slip!_

"Actually, I don't care," Mystogan headed for the door. "I did what I came here to do, so I just wanna-GU!" Mystogan suddenly dropped to one knee and coughed up some blood.

"Are you alright?!" Natsu asked, running to him.

"Yeah... just in a ton of pain, is all. Hold on..." Mystogan then did a number of intricate hand motions with his right hand. "Nostrum," a green light enveloped his body and, once it vanished, he stood back up.

"Was that healing magic?"

"Yes; it won't heal me completely, but I should be well enough to leave." Before he could, though, Natsu put a "Magic Defender" on his wrist.

"No. Not until you talk to everyone."

"...Very well."

* * *

Later that day, after Laxus' excommunication, Mystogan walked into the guild, but this time, he wasn't wearing his mask, which was almost as surprising as his face.

"T-T-T-Two Jellals?!" Erza stammered.

_Fuck!_ Gray thought to himself. _I gotta keep _two _of these guys away from Erza now?!_

"I'm sure you're all surprised to see what my face looks like, so allow me to explain myself," Mystogan started. "'Mystogan' is merely an alias; my real name is Jellal, and I am the Jellal Fernandes of a parallel world known as 'Edolas.'"

"'Parallel world?!'" Everyone except Natsu, his team, and Makarov shouted.

"In this universe, the citizens of Earth Land, the Celestial Spirit world, and the home of sentinoids, the Makai, are able to use magic within their bodies and within the land itself; the citizens of Edolas, however, can only use the magic within the land through the usage of magic items."

"Wouldn't you have run out of magic by now, then?" Someone asked.

"We should've, but we have been able to continually use magic through the use of Anima."

"'Anima?'" Another person asked.

"Anima is an interdimensional spell designed by the Royal Family. With it, magic in a specific area can be transported between dimensions," Mira suddenly thought of something, but she kept it to herself. "This has been used to keep magic flowing through Edolas... or, at least, it was supposed to."

"What do you mean?" Jellal asked.

"If they were just taking magic from deserted areas, it would've been fine, but the king of Edolas... my father, has allowed his desire for power to corrupt his mind. He now makes sure to target areas filled with powerful mages to steal their magic. That magic is then used just so he can expand his territory and try to rule the entire world. What's worse is that he's made a law forbidding anyone not with the government from using magic, and those who do are immediately executed.  
"No one should live in a world like that! I knew that this had to be stopped, so I left Edolas seven years ago, and for seven years, I've been suppressing the Anima with my magic to stop the madness, and until I finish, I won't stop!"

"So then... why did you decide to tell us this at long last?"

"To be honest, I hadn't planned on it at all. But..." he then gave a small glance towards Natsu, "someone made me realise that it's a good thing to have people support you... even if there's not a lot that they can do for you besides that. I will keep suppressing the Anima as long as it takes, so until I'm done, please support me to best of your abilities!"

"OOOOOOOOOOH!" Everyone shouted.

* * *

Later that night, a little before the parade, Natsu was talking with Mystogan(now wearing his mask again).

"I must thank you for today, Natsu," he said to him. "I never knew that the support of others could lift so much weight off of my shoulders."

"Yeah, I kinda understood what you were dealing with a little," Natsu replied. The Dragon Slayer then noticed that Mystogan was staring up at the sky.

"...There was once a person who stayed by my side. I pushed her away because I thought that she shouldn't have gotten involved with what I was doing, but now I wonder... was that the right thing to do...?"

"Don't worry, Mystogan," Natsu said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Wendy's just fine; you don't need to worry about her!"

"W-What?"

"Oh! Gotta get ready for the parade!" Natsu then ran off to get changed.

_How did he know about Wendy? I have heard that he'd gotten very knowledgeable after training in Mildea for two years, but to know such a personal thing...! ...It's fine; I don't need to know. But still... that man... Natsu Dragneel... maybe with him..._

* * *

"I gotta get ready now, okay?" Erza said to Jellal.

"I can't wait to see you in the parade," Jellal said to her(because of his injuries and being the big hero, Jellal was allowed to watch from the sidelines). Erza then walked off to change, but stopped when Jellal said, "Erza."

"Yes?" She asked, turning around.

"Have you been to the new cake shop that opened up?"

"No, I've been too busy."

"Well, then... we should go some time... just the two of us..."

"_Just the two of us...?" _Erza thought to herself. _Wait... does he mean... is he talking about..._ Erza's face became filled with blush, _a date?!_

"Erza?"

"...Okay," she gave him a quick smile and left in an embarrassed hurry.

_Well aren't _you _the bold one?_ Siegrain's apparition said with a smirk.

_Heh, _he said with his mind, _I had to do it eventually. I've decided that, from now on, everything I do will be for the sake of happiness!_

_You're probably going to _hate _me then, _a new, but familiar to Jellal, voice said in his mind.

_! What are _you _doing here?!_

_Meet me outside of town after that little festival; we have... _things _to talk about__._

* * *

At the same time that this was happening, Fuyu Navidades was having dinner with the Chairman, Absoliutus Teisingumas.

"How do you like the meal I've prepared, Fuyu-san?" The Chairman asked.

"It's awesome!" She answered. "This Mildestan water tastes absolutely divine! And even though I'd be fine with just water as a water Dragon Slayer, you even brought me Water Water Meat from Mizu-Nana; you spoil this genius too much!"

"Can you blame me, Fuyu-san? Not only do you have a fabulous body that I would do dirty things to if you allowed me-"

"I wouldn't!"

"you're one of the few people I know who's love for magic rivals my own; it basically makes up for you being a mage!"

"You got that right! Whenever I see magic being used, regardless of it being the first time time or the quadrillionth time, my heart just soars~~~! It's for that love that, as head of the Bureau of Magical Development, I've created over 200 Artificial Magics and revived almost a hundred Lost Magics!"

"Yeah..." Absoliutus lost a bit of his delightful tone. "The Bureau is actually related to why I asked you to come here, Fuyu-san."

"Does this genius have to lay some people off?"

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"...The Oración Seis have started to move." Fuyu's face became blank when she heard this. "As you know, their leader, who goes under the alias 'Brain,' was the last head of the Bureau before you, so it seemed appropriate to tell you."

"...What are you going to do about it? Will you use the Sen'ya Ichiya[One Thousand and One Nights(Remember this, it'll be important)]?"

"No. Whatever happens with the Seis will become public, so it'll be too much exposure for the Sen'ya Ichiya. They have something planned for Fiore, so at the next meeting of Fiore guild masters, I'll propose an alliance to deal with it."

"...I see..."

_Hopefully, the Oración Seis will be taken out, but it's possible that people in this alliance could die as well, _the Chairman thought to himself. _...Well, that's fine, though! After all, it would only mean the loss of a few lousy mages! _

* * *

Later that night, Jellal had returned to his apartment after meeting with the person who contacted him Telepathically.

"...Why?" He asked himself. "I thought that it had happened... that I had escaped my spiral of misery. But now I've been trapped within it again... and this time... I might not escape...!" He slammed his fist against the wall. "DAMMIT!"

* * *

**Fox: I came up with another idea for a fanfic!**

**Pie: Really? What?**

**Fox: Well, it stars Wendy and Mystogan-**

**Pie: We don't need more pedophilia.**

**Fox: It's not that kind of story! Don't jump to conclusions, Pie!**

**Pie: Sorry. Please continue.**

**Fox: Thank you. It's sort of a "What If?" story where Mystogan doesn't leave Wendy with Roubaul and insteads keeps her at his side. She helps him with the Anima, and he teaches her magic in general.**

**Pie: That sounds like a pretty cool read. Are you gonna **_**write**_ **that?**

**Fox: If I have time.**

* * *

**Fox: With this, the Fighting Festival is over, but what an ending! Just who did Jellal talk to and what has he gotten himself into now?! You'll find out next chapter!**

**Pie: Whenever that's written.**

**Fox: Yeah, I won't be writing it until I re-read the Oración Seis arc in full, but to make up for it, I present you with a whimsical omake!**

**Pie: "Whimsical?"**

**Fox: It's a word! And this omake is entitled...**

* * *

**Wendy: _FAIRY CHANNEL!_ That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! The **_**Lucky Star**_ **parody omake has finally been born! Only available on FF dot C! **  
**Hello to all of you that have just started FTR! I'll be your navigator, Wendy Marvell! And this is my assistant, Mr. Fox!**

**Fox: Hello! Wait, why am **_**I **_**the assistant?! I'm writing this story!**

**Wendy: You lost Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, remember?**

**Fox: I shouldn't have used Spock...**

**Wendy: It's fun to see you upset! Just kidding!**

**Fox: Right... So, Wendy, you must be excited about your upcoming debut, right?**

**Wendy: Super excited! I bet that this'll be the best fanfic I appear in ever!**

**Fox: What about the others on the site?**

**Wendy: Others? ...The others...*Switches to a deeper voice***

**Fox: Wendy?**

**Wendy: Let me tell you about the others: they're f***in' annoying! In every one of them, I'm either super naïve or in love with that Romeo kid, and I'm friggin' sicka it! To everyone who ships me with that kid, can you tell me **_**ONE**_ **canonical moment we've had together?! You can't, can you?! Because our pairing shouldn't exist, dammit!**

**Fox: Please don't snap at the shippers, Wendy.**

**Wendy: And another thing! You all portray as a stupid little kid, but I'm not; I'm twelve! Twelve year olds curse! Twelve year olds do bad things! Twelve year olds know adult things! And, what pisses me off the most... TWELVE YEAR OLDS KNOW HOW BABIES ARE F***ING BORN! To prove to you all that you are **_**wrong **_**about me, I shall now drink a whole bottle of whiskey while spouting profanity!**

**Fox: Please don't!*The theme music goes off***

**Wendy(In her normal voice): Oh no! It's time to say goodbye! Wendy's sad! On that note, if you have any questions for FoxOnPie about the story or anything else, leave them in the reviews, or send them with a PM please! Mr. Fox, ask them with a please!**

**Fox: We hope to see you again.**

**Wendy: See ya!*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): Hey, Fox, are you really not starting the next arc until you re-read what that troll Mashima wrote?**

**Fox: Y-yes**

**Wendy: How long would that take then?**

**Fox: Well, I also have to factor in school, so... I won't promise anything.**

**Wendy: DAMN YOU!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	17. She's an Otaku now?

**Pie: Fox, why are you a dirty liar?**

**Fox: What do you mean?!**

**Pie: You said it would be awhile until the next chapter came out, and yet, here it is! Out pretty fast!**

**Fox: Well, I got a call announcing a snow day for Monday, so I just spent the whole night re-reading Oración Seis. To my fans, you're welcome.**

**Pie: That was a little conceited, you know.**

**Fox: Shut up!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

It had been fifteen days since the Harvest Festival, and things were going as they did in the first timeline. Lucy had her small reconciliation with her father, the team worked in Yajima's new restaurant, 8-Island; things were moving very predictably. That is, at least, until Natsu was tackled to the ground by an overly energetic Saint.

"Get offa me, Fuyu!" Natsu yelled.

"Yeah, get off of him!" Lucy yelled.

"Sorry!" Fuyu said, getting up. "This genius was just so excited to see Natsu-kun again!"

"I wish _I _knew how to excite you like that, Fuyu-san," Chairman Absoliutus Teisingumas said, walking into the guild.

"Chairman Teisingumas?!" Natsu and Erza exclaimed in unison. "What are you doing here?!"

"I came here to deliver a message of utmost importance. The fate of Fiore, maybe the world, is at risk right now. But first..." he ran over to Makarov, "you have those magazines I asked for, right?"

"Y-yes..." Makarov replied with a sweat drop.

"This shall continue in ten minutes!" The perverted Chairman ran off to the bathroom.

"That guy makes the master look like a monk..." Lucy said with a sweat drop.

"Aye..." Happy added, also with a sweat drop.

"Hey, 'Salamander,'" Gajeel said, walking over to Natsu and Fuyu, "who's this 'Tenpsycho'(A/N: The Japanese word for "genius" is "tensai," so by adding "-co," he's calling her a psycho and referencing her habit of calling herself a genius)?"

"Her name's Fuyu Navidades," Natsu said. "Wizard Saint, head of the Bureau of Magical Development, and a water Dragon Slayer."

"This girl?!" Fuyu then flashed her canines. "No way!"

"Yes way, Gajeel-kun!" Fuyu exclaimed. "I'll prove it by eating some water."

"I'd like to see that," Natsu said. "Want me to get you a glass, or-" Before Natsu could finish, Fuyu had started biting Juvia's arm.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWW!" Juvia cried. Natsu then immediately pulled Fuyu off of her.

"The hell are you doing?!" Natsu yelled.

"Sorry," Fuyu apologised, "but I smelt Juvia-chan when I walked in and this genius' taste buds went into a frenzy~~~!"

"Please don't eat Juvia!" Juvia pleaded, rubbing where she was bit.

"But the fact that you got hurt, despite having a Water Body, means that I really can eat water, right, Gajeel-kun?"

"...Fine..." he started, "but you're still not a real Dragon Slayer."

"How so? I get motion sick just like Natsu-kun."

"That's a part of it?! ...I mean... I _totally _knew that; I get motion sick, like, all the time!"

_This genius thinks he's lying, _Fuyu thought to herself.

"What I mean is... YOU DON'T HAVE A CAT!"

"!" Fuyu was shocked to hear this. "...'Cat?' You mean... an Exceed? I... I've learned about them through my studies, but I didn't know I needed one!" Fuyu started to cry. "WAAAAAAAAAH!"

"It's alright, 'Tenpsycho!'" Gajeel said, hugging her while he cried as well. Before anyone could tsukkomi this boke moment, the bathroom door suddenly flung open.

"Everything has left the building!" Absoliutus yelled.

_Is he _really _the guy we're trusting the safety of the magical world with?!_ Lucy yelled in her head.

"Now, then, onto the matter of hand." The perverted Chairman walked to the center of the room, took out a Light Pen, made one touch to the air, and created an entire diagram of the known Dark Guilds, albeit very fancy.

"Wow! He's even better than Reedus!"

"Oui..." Reedus said, hanging his head down.

"These are all the Dark Guilds who's existence we've confirmed," Absoliutus started. "In charge of all of these guild are the Balam Alliance, three of the four strongest Dark Guilds who's alliance is merely a non-aggression pact. Their names are Tartaros, Grimoire Heart, and Oración Seis. It is because of that last one that Fuyu-san and I are here today." Natsu and his team started to pay close attention. "Recently, the Oración Seis have begun conducting a strange amount of activity nearby the Worth Woodsea, which can only be trouble."

"_Nirvana..." _Natsu thought to himself.

"Because of this, with my permission, the law forbidding guild-on-guild conflict has been temporarily lifted to form a Guild Alliance with the goal of defeating the Oración Seis! It shall be composed of your guild, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter!"

"'Lamia Scale?!'" Juvia exclaimed.

"So now, choose as many strong mages as you can, because it's time for war!"

* * *

Later that day, Fuyu had asked Natsu to meet her behind the guild hall to talk to him about something.

"So, Fuyu," Natsu started, "what is it?"

"Well..." Fuyu started, showing some odd shyness, "it's about the Oración Seis."

"What about them?"

"Their leader, the man who calls himself 'Brain,' was the last head of the Bureau of Magical Development before me. I've always hated that he's been running around free for the last 10 years; it makes me feel like I haven't really taken this job."

"...And?"

"Well... I want you to make sure he goes down! Can you please promise me that?!" Natsu was quite taken back by this. He wasn't sure what he should've said, but then he realised that this girl, Fuyu Navidades, was just like his friends; she decided to believe in Natsu and the possibility of him creating a miracle. Natsu then patted her on the head.

"I was already planning on it."

* * *

The next day, the selected members of Fairy Tail were heading to Bob's villa to discuss the plan of attack.

"Why do _I _have to go?!" Lucy cried in the cart.

"It really is a pain," Gray said.

"This is what the master decided," Erza said. "Shouldn't we live up to his expectations?"

"But what about Jellal or Gajeel?!" Lucy asked. "They would've been better for this!"

"They're both on Jobs right now."

"Are... we there... yet...?" Natsu asked, crippled from his motion sickness.

"Seeing you in such a state makes it hard to believe you're a Wizard Saint, Natsu-san," Juvia said with a sweat drop.

"Juvia," Lucy said, "can you remind me why you're here again?"

"Because! Lamia Scale is going to be there, so that means I get to see Lyon-sama again!"

"Can you tell me what you see in that guy again?" Gray asked.

"What _don't _I see in him?! He's so completely wonderful! I wanna take him home with me~!"

"Hey! We're here!" Happy shouted as they approached the villa. They soon exited the cart and walked inside, confused as to why it was dark, and, a few seconds later, why there was a spotlight with two silhouettes inside.

"Ladies and gentleman of Fairy Tail..." one of them said, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you. We are the delegation from Blue Pegasus... the Dimens." The lights went on and the one who just spoke made an intricate pose. "'Hundred Nights' Hibiki."

"'Empty Night' Ren," the other one said, also striking a pose.

"Th... they're cool...!" Lucy said. "...Unlike our guys..." This was said as she watched Natsu hold in vomit and Gray lose his clothes. Now, the Dimens were flirting with Erza and Juvia and then brought all three of them to what seemed like the seat of a host bar. The tan one, Ren, gave Lucy and Juvia each a drink.

"It's... not like I made these just for you, got it?" Ren said.

"Tsundere!" Lucy and Juvia exclaimed.

"Will you two give it a rest, already?" Someone asked, making everyone turn to the stairs. When they did, they saw a blond woman wearing a sequin purple dress and a smile walking down. "You'll have to forgive my friends; they're good mages, but they act like idiots."

"'Idiots?'" Hibiki repeated. "If treating ladies as they should be properly treated is stupid, Jenny-san, then we would prefer to be idiots... forever~!" The "forever~!" was joined by Ren.

"'Jenny?' Aren't you Jenny Realight?!" Lucy asked.

"You've heard of me?" She asked.

"Yeah! You're the girl who's appeared in Sorcerer almost as much as Mira-san!"

"...Is that right?" There was a mixture of gloom and anger in her voice when she said this. "So that's how I'm remembered, eh? ...As the girl not as good as Mira...?"

_Did... did I upset her somehow?_

"My friends..." a new voice said, "I think that's quite enough of that, yes?"

"Wh... What the?! What is this sickly-sweet voice?!"

"Ichiya-sama..." Ren said.

"Ichiya?" Erza asked.

"It has been a while, my dear Erza-san!" Ichiya said.

"T... to think that _you_ would be participating..." Ichiya had now reached the foot of the stairs, revealing his... form.

"I have longed to see you, MY HONEY! Worry not... Ichiya is here for you~!"

"'MY HONEY?!'" Lucy exclaimed.

"So you were the lover of Ichiya-sama..." the Dimens said unanimously. "We must apologise for our conduct."

"I vigorously deny everything," Erza said.

"I second that vigorous denial," Gray added.

"Clear all that away!" Ichiya yelled, pointing at the host bar setup. "We're not here to mess about!"

"Yes, Aniki!" The Dimens said, getting rid of it.

"I have heard all about you people... Erza-san, Lucy-san, Juvia-san, and the other two." Ichiya then proceeded to sniff Juvia. "Ah, such wonderful perfume!"

"Juvia's really creeped out..." Juvia said, shaking.

"Insufferable dandies of Blue Pegasus..." Gray started, "could I ask you to leave my friend's girl and the rest of our lovely ladies alone?"

"Oh, you men can just go home," Ichiya said.

"It has been a pleasure!" The Dimens said with a bow.

"Are you Pegasus guys trying to pick a fight?!" Gray asked with a scowl.

"Want to try?" Ren asked.

"We are quite powerful, you know," Hibiki added.

"I could beat you all without breaking a sweat," Natsu said. "Wanna see?"

"Enough already!" Erza yelled. Before she could do anything, though, she noticed Ichiya smelling her.

"Erza..." the wannabe Ikemen started, "your perfume is glorious as always."

"Don't come near me!" Erza sent him flying with a punch.

"MEEEEEEEEEEN!" As Ichiya flew towards the door, he was caught by the head by someone who was just walking in.

"Interesting manner you have of greeting us you have there," the man said as he froze Ichiya's head. "Would you be the delegates from Fairy Tail?"

"LYON-SAMA!" Juvia exclaimed.

"My beloved Juvia!" Lyon exclaimed as he threw Ichiya to the ground. Juvia ran in for an embrace, but she was cut off by the carpet suddenly attacking her. "What are you doing, Sherry?!"

"What I must, Lyon-sama!" Sherry exclaimed. "This girl doesn't deserve you; she doesn't even grasp the concept of LOVE!" From there, the villa was filled with different assortments of chaos: Ichiya kept annoying Erza, Juvia and Sherry were arguing with Lyon trying to mediate, Gray and the Dimens were shooting daggers at each other, and Jenny was hauled up in some corner muttering something about Mira.

"ENOUGH!" A voice boomed. "We are here to form an alliance... and defeat the Oración Seis. This is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves."

"Jura, why do have a staff and headdress?" Natsu asked.

"...I don't know," he then quickly discarded the items. "Anyway, with our three guilds assembled, we are only waiting for the delegation of Cait Shelter."

"That reminds me..." Natsu Requipped a pillow, confusing everyone, and threw it to the ground seconds before a little girl fell onto it. He then walked up to the said dojikko and helped her up. "You alright, kid?"

"Simon?!" The girl exclaimed.

"'Simon?' My name's Natsu."

"But... you sound just like Simon from _Gurren Lagann_!"

"I sound like who from what?"

"Natsu-san, can you do me a favor and say, 'My drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens?'"

"Please don't," said a white Exceed entering the scene, putting hearts in Happy's eyes.

"Carla! I told you not to come!"

"If I wasn't here, you would've just gotten into trouble somehow, Wendy."

"Not true! I'm not like Yukki who needs Yuno to support himself!"

_...What is this?_ Natsu asked himself. _Wendy's outgoing... and a fan of anime, or whatever?! This is the first time there's been a change in someone that I didn't directly cause! Why, though?_

"Now then..." Ichiya started, "since everyone has finally arrived... I shall proceed to the explanation of our strategy! ...But first, I must visit the perfume of the lavatory."

"I'll go with you."

_Gay, _Gray said telepathically.

_I heard that!_

_Good, I wanted you to._

* * *

_Okay..._ Natsu thought as he and Ichiya walked to the bathroom, _as I recall, Ichiya was attacked in the bathroom by "Angel" of the Oración Seis and her spirit, Gemini. She uses the same magic as Lucy, so I just need to look for magic like that..._ Natsu closed his eyes and focused all of his sensory skills on Celestial Spirit magic. _I got it! Gemini's... really?_ As they walked into the bathroom, Ichiya headed for the first stall before being pushed out of the way.

"Excuse me, Natsu-kun," Ichiya started, "but there are plenty of stalls; you don't need to-" he stopped talking when Natsu sent a blast of fire into the toilet, making two little blue things pop out on fire.

"Did you _really _have to hide in the toilet?!" Gemi and Mini soon vanished. "Angel! I know you're here! Come on out!" A female then proceeded to climb in through the window.

"Impressive... for a child of the 'light,' at least," she said with a smirk.

"MEEEEEEEN!" Ichiya yelled. "That's 'Angel' of the Oración Seis!"

"Yeah," Natsu said. "She tried to use her spirits' copy magic to impersonate you and get all the info about the operation."

"If it makes you feel better, I _did_ want to make it as painless as possible," "Angel" said, obviously lying. "But now that that's off the table... you'll have to face an angel's judgement!" She whipped out a golden key. "Open, gate of the scorpion! Scorpio!" A scorpion man then appeared in front of her.

"We are!" Scorpio shouted as he fired a blast of sand from his tail.

"Karyū no Hōkō!" Natsu shot fire from his mouth directly at the sand, turning it all to glass and scorching Scorpio.

"We are..." He went back to his own world.

"Tch! If it's like this..." Angel summoned Caelum and put it in sword form, "doing it myself is my best bet!" She delivered a big slash to Natsu and Ichiya, effectively cutting them in half. "Now you know not to-"

"Karyū no Tekken!" Angel turned when she heard this only to receive a powerful punch to the face from Natsu.

"H-How! I cut you and that idiot in half!" Natsu simply pointed at where they "just were," making Angel turn and see shattered glass. "The glass from before...? You... you used it to make a reflection and trick me?!"

"Yep. And now-"

"Wait, Natsu-kun!" Ichiya interjected, opening a bottle of perfume. "This woman meant to dishonor my handsome face; _I _shall end this!" He suddenly became very muscular, losing his clothes in the process.

"...What?"

"Behold! This is my beautiful dreamer..." Ichiya then gave a very weird smile, freaking Natsu and Angel out a little, "Hohoemi! SMASH!" Ichiya then dealt Angel a powerful uppercut that sent her flying through the roof at an angle. "MEEEEEEN!"

_Huh... didn't know Pegasus could _do _something! _"...By the way, where's she gonna land?"

"Judging by the angle of trajectory..." the two then heard a crash and some screams, "the room the others are in."

* * *

"What the hell?!" was basically written on everyone's faces.

"Isn't this 'Angel' of the Oración Seis?!" Hibiki asked.

"'Angel?!'" Wendy exclaimed. "Someone better call NERV!" Most of the people there were confused, but Carla apparently understood what Wendy was saying, hence the facepalm. It was then that Natsu and Ichiya returned.

"Don't worry, guys, we can explain this," Natsu said.

_Can you explain Ichiya's lack of clothes?_ Lucy thought with a sweat drop. Natsu and Ichiya then told everyone what had transpired in the bathroom.

"And you say that you were specifically sensing for Celestial Spirit magic?" Jura asked.

"Yeah. The truth is, I have friends high up in the government who knew about the magic 'Angel' uses, so I knew what to look for."

"Remarkable, Natsu-dono! I don't think even _I _could use my magic senses to hone in on a specific kind of magic! You truly are deserving of your new title!"

"What new title?"

"You don't know? It was mentioned in the paper today."

"We left before it was delivered."

"Well then I'll tell you. The new title that's been bestowed upon you, Natsu-dono, is the 'Reborn Fairy Tactician,' as if you're the reincarnation of the original, Mavis Vermillion."

"I like it!"

"Yeah!" Wendy chimed in. "You're like Kira and Lelouch all rolled into one, but without the evilness _or_ the Britishness!" Before Natsu could ask who the hell those people were, "Angel" started coming to, muttering something about a horrid face. Natsu immediately Requipped a "Magic Defender" and put in on her wrist.

"This 'Magic Defender' acts a beacon for the Rune Knights on patrol here," Natsu said. "In a few minutes, you'll be arrested, so how about telling us your guild's powers in full and, while you're at it, what you're after?"

"Why should I?" "Angel" asked. Natsu then leaned in and whispered something in her ear. "...I'll tell you everything..." "Angel" then told the Guild Alliance the Oración Seis' powers in detail and also what their full goal was.

"This is more serious than I thought..." Jura said.

"Well then, let's not waste anymore time here!" Ichiya exclaimed. "We know that they are all currently at their base, so we must all hurry onto 'Christina!'"

"Put some clothes on, first!" Erza yelled. Ichiya left to go get changed while Hibiki led the rest to the ship.

"We're gonna win, right, Natsu-san?" Wendy asked.

"Of course!" He exclaimed. "Just who the hell do you think we are?!" Wendy's nose then bled from one nostril as she collapsed to the ground. "Wendy!"

"What happened?!" Carla asked.

"I don't know! Her nose started bleeding, and then she just fell over!"

"...It's fine..." Carla took out a tissue and put it in Wendy's nose, making her get up. "You see, Natsu, Wendy has a nosebleed whenever a powerful reference to anime or manga is made."

"So she _is _an Otaku?!"

"Row Row, Fight The Power!" Wendy yelled, throwing a fist in the air and bleeding from the other nostril.

_What have I done in this timeline to cause such a thing?!_ We now go back a few minutes to when "Angel" lost consciousness.

* * *

"Impossible!" "Brain" shouted in the Oración Seis' cave

"What's wrong, 'Brain?'" "Racer" asked.

"'Angel' was just defeated...!"

"What?!"

"How?!" "Cobra" exclaimed. "Her plan was flawless; how did they take her out?!"

"It's because of Natsu Dragneel," the person sitting in the back of the cave said. He was dressed in all white except for a black "4" on his left pectoral and wore a white mask with two horns that only showed his eyes. "The man known as the 'Reborn Fairy Tactician' would never had let such a trick play out."

"If you knew, then why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because I'm only here for 'Nirvana;' I don't give a damn about what happens to any of you."

"You bastard!" Cuberos hissed.

"Please, you two," "Hoteye" said, "this is merely another problem that can be solved with money, right?"

"ENOUGH!" "Brain" yelled. "'Cobra!' We know at least that they have an airship; intercept it and send it crashing! 'Racer!' 'Hoteye!' 'Midnight!'" Midnight awoke at the sound of his name. "The crash probably won't kill them all; spread out across the ground and wait to attack them! Finally, 'Cifer!' ...Go with 'Cobra.'"

"...Why?" "Cifer" asked.

"Because it'll be something absolutely _great_ for you."

"...Understood." The five mentioned individuals left the cave and moved out for their tasks.

"Such insolence cannot be forgiven..." "Brain" said. "Children of 'light...' this 'world of light...' today... you shall fall!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Wendy is now the official Otaku Surrogate of FTR; whaddaya think?**

**Pie: It's pretty funny.**

**Fox: Thanks! And for who are wondering why, there'll be an omake explaining this in the near future. For now, though, how 'bout dat chapter?! Just who is this mysterious "Cifer," anyway?!**

**Pie: Based on stuff that's happened already, wouldn't it be-**

**Fox: Don't spoil it!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	18. MAGIC BATTLES ON MOTORCYCLES!

**Fox: Guess who's baaaaaaaaaaaaack?**

**Pie: Yoshihiro Togashi?**

**Fox: I wish! It's us! To everyone who waited patiently for me, thank you very much!**

**Pie: I don't have anything snarky to say, so let's get the disclaimer over with.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Where we last left off, our heroes had departed from Bob's villa and were heading to the Oración Seis' base via "Christina." Natsu didn't have to deal with motion sickness thanks to Wendy, but she did ask how he knew about her magic. In response to this, Natsu said, "Muffin button," and Wendy apparently understood as she didn't bring it up again.  
Aboard the airship piloted by Hibiki, everyone was just passing the time until they reached their destination. Jura meditated in the middle of the ship, Juvia and Lyon gazed at the passing scenery as they said mushy things to one another, making a Sherry in the corner rather angry, Blue Pegasus, excluding Hibiki, were practicing their hosting skills, Lucy was forming contracts with the spirits she took from the recently arrested "Angel," and the rest of Fairy Tail were just sitting around.

"Are we there yet?" They all asked.

"We'll get there when we get there!" Hibiki yelled in annoyance.

_I wanna be there _now, _though!_ Natsu exclaimed in his mind. He then looked around and saw Wendy and Carla sitting a few feet away from them. Wendy was holding a small Lacrima and had on headphones with ears shaped like rabbits while Carla just sat up against her back with an annoyed look on her face.

"Whatcha doin', Wendy?" Natsu asked, walking over and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Just playin' a visual novel," she responded as she took off her headphones. "Wanna listen?"

"I wouldn't, if I were you," Carla said.

"Ah, come on;" Natsu said, putting on the headphones, "what's the harm in-"

"Ah! Faster! Faster!" was heard by Natsu. Confused, he looked down at the Lacrima to see a _veeeeery _sexual image on screen.

"...Is this... an eroge...?"

"Yep!" Wendy said with a smile. Natsu quickly removed the headphones from his head and put them on the ground.

"Aren't you a little _young_ to be playing those things?" Erza asked who, at the mention of "eroge," walked over to join the conversation, along with Lucy, Gray, and Happy.

"Yes, yes she is," Carla said with a sweat drop.

"Age doesn't matter to people like me!" Wendy exclaimed. "If I let age matter, I never would've gotten into dark, violent, and awesome stuff like _Code Geass_ or _Hellsing!_"

"The point I'm trying to make is that you really shouldn't be into that stuff, Wendy."

"...You want me to give up my anime lifestyle?"

"I would very much like that."

"Okay. If that's the case, then I guess I'm turning to drugs."

"Good- wait, what?!"

"You do realize that this in anti-drug, right? You think I got any Jewels for crack when I'm spending all my money on books, DVDs, figurines, and dakimakura?"

"'Dakimakura?'" Lucy asked with a sweat drop.

"You mean those pillows with the half-naked anime girls on them?" Gray asked.

"'Dakimakura...'" Natsu started. "So, Gray, is _that _what you call that thing you taped a picture of Erza's face-" he was cut off by a block of ice to the face; pertaining to the nature of the running gag, Erza didn't hear what Natsu was saying.

"I know that they're typically for men," Wendy started, "but they do make great collectibles! Though..." Wendy blushed a little, "they're also not that bad to sleep with every now and then~!" Wendy then chuckled a little. "Nami-swa~n!" Blood shot out of her left nostril. "Robin-chwa~n!" Blood shot out of her right nostril.

_Natsu... were we _really _friends with her? _His team asked him telepathically.

_Yeah..._ Natsu said in his mind, _but she was totally different in the first timeline..._

"I need a drink..." Carla muttered. "Hey, male cat. Are any of your fish coated in alcohol?"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"Aren't you only six, Happy?" Natsu asked.

"In human years; that's 30 in cat years."

"It is?"

"30's a good number, so why not?"

"So it's just a guess?!" Lucy exclaimed as Happy and Carla went off for a happy hour.

"...Your nose," Natsu said to Wendy.

"Oh!" The tiny Otaku quickly took out a tissue and wiped the blood away. "Thanks."

"You really like that anime and manga stuff, don't you?"

"Totally! Everyone's always so cool and brave and tough; it makes me want to be just like one of the characters!"

_Well, at least I know the reason for her change in personality._

"And you're _just _as cool, Natsu-san! The way you took down 'Angel' when no one even knew she was there; it's like you either thought three steps ahead or already _knew _she would be there!"

"R-Right..."

"I can't wait to see your plan for the air assault!"

"I'm sure you'll be... huh?"

"Well, one's bound to happen, Natsu-san. We're sitting ducks up here, especially with our strongest guy, Jura-san, unable to fight."

"Why can't he?"

"There's no earth here, and he isn't a metalbender." This was accompanied by a small nosebleed.

"What's with that? _Avatar_ isn't anime."

"It might as well be," she said, wiping away the blood. "So what's your plan for that?" Before Natsu could stammer out a lie, something hit against the top of the ship, melting a hole through it and revealing "Cobra" and Cuberos.

"I can hear you, children of 'light!'" "Cobra" yelled as everyone got up and faced him(Hibiki put "Christina" on autopilot).

"It's 'Cobra!'" Natsu shouted.

"That's right! Prepare to die!"

"Wait," a voice said. The owner of the voice then appeared next to "Cobra" out of nowhere, revealing itself to be "Cifer," surprising everyone.

"A seventh mage?!" Jura exclaimed.

"What the hell?!" Gray yelled. "I thought they were the Oración _Seis, _not the Oración Siete!"

"Oh, he's not a member," "Cobra" said. "This guy's 'Cifer,' and he's merely an 'associate' of ours."

"_Associate?!" _ Erza thought to herself. _He feels even stronger than "Cobra!" Also, why does his magic seem so... familiar..._

"...If you leave now, no harm will be dealt to you or anyone close to you," "Cifer" said.

"Hey!" "Cobra" yelled. "I heard that, you know! What gives _you_ the right to make bargains?!"

"Is it a deal?" "Cifer" asked, ignoring "Cobra."

"Like hell!" Natsu yelled, shooting a blast of fire at "Cifer." "Cifer," however, dodged with relative ease.

"Sonído." "Cifer" flew at the ship with incredible speed, breaking through the metal and landing an attack on Gray, Lyon, and Juvia, knocking all three off board.

"NO!"

"Lyon-sama!" Juvia cried. "And, by extension, Gray-sama!"

"What do you mean, 'by extension?!'" Gray yelled as the three plummeted. "Cifer" then fired a red blast of energy that blew all of Blue Pegasus into the air.

"This man is incredible...!" Jura said.

"Don't just praise him!" Erza yelled. "As the strongest here, you should've already started to fight him!"

"...I can't."

"Why?!"

"...There's no earth here..."

"Seriously?!"

_1-0, Wendy, _Wendy thought to herself as she gave herself a high five.

"Texture Surprise," "Cifer" said. In an instant, the floor beneath Wendy, Jura, and Sherry turned into straw, making them all fall. Luckily, though, Carla activated Aera just in time to grab Wendy.

"Why were you just standing there, Wendy?!" Carla asked.

"I was distracted..." Wendy said as blood trickled down her face, "by all the references..." Carla then dropped Wendy onto solid ground so she could facepalm. "Cifer" then flew out of the ship.

"As if I'll let you!" Erza yelled. The Fairy Queen then Requipped into her Giant's Armor and threw her Evil Crushing Spear at the masked man.

"Repel," "Cifer" said, sticking his hand out. The spear was pushed away from the scene, but not before the tip hit the horn on "Cifer's" mask, causing it to be pulled off as the spear was flung away, revealing a face no one was expecting.

"Jellal?!" Erza and Wendy exclaimed.

_Not this crap again!_ Natsu, Lucy, and Happy exclaimed in their minds.

"...This is a joke, right?" Erza asked. "For you to be working with them... to be against me again... this is a joke, right?!"

"..." Jellal then put his right hand on top of his left hand, his left one open and his right only having two fingers sticking out. "Grand Chariot."

"JELLAAAAAAL!" Seven blasts of light that formed the shape of the big dipper shot out at "Christina."

"RED BIND!" Natsu wrapped everyone in his flame ropes and jumped off before the ship was struck.

"I can still hear them," "Cobra" said. "They've all got the skills to survive those falls; let's go after them."

"No need," Jellal said. "A multitude of Dark Guilds are already deployed across the Worth Woodsea, and the other members of the Seis are here to deal with them, as well. For now, we should head back to 'Brain.'"

"Tch! Fine." The two then flew away from the falling mess that was once "Christina."

* * *

"Okay... anyone got a plan?" Natsu asked as they fell.

"_This _was the extent of your plan?" Carla asked. "Aren't you supposed to be the 'Reborn Fairy Tactician?'"

"I didn't choose that name!"

"Koro-sensei!" Wendy cried. "Your students are in trouble; hurry up and save them!"

"This is _not _the time!" Everyone except Erza yelled as they fell and got closer to the ground.

"! I know!" Lucy exclaimed, pulling out a golden Gate Key. "Open, gate of the white lamb! Aries!" A girl with horns on her head appeared underneath them.

"It's a moe spirit!" Wendy shouted.

"Wool Wall!" Aries shouted, creating a big mass of wool that the group fell onto.

"Wow, thanks, Aries!" Lucy said.

"E-Everybody gets one..." Aries then disappeared along with the wool.

"She's a deredere?" Wendy asked. "Not too into that."

"Seriously, Wendy, not now." Natsu said.

"...Sorry."

"This is not the best situation. What should we do, Erza? ...Erza?" Erza, back in her Heart Kreuz Armor, didn't respond; she just gazed at the sky, lost in the thoughts of what just happened.

* * *

"Is everyone alright? Not that I care or anything, got it?" Ren asked his group. In order to stop their fall, Ren had used his air magic to slow their descent.

"Jenny and I are alright..." Hibiki said, "Ichiya-san, though..." everyone looked to their left to see Ichiya hanging on a tree branch, as he was a little out of Ren's range. The branch soon snapped, causing Ichiya to fall onto his face.

"Pick yourself up, you idiot!" Ren yelled. "...Well, we did go through a lot. For now, we should try and regroup with as many people as we-" before Ren could finish, though, he was cut off by the magic and form of a very androgynous man.

"So it's just you four, then?" "Midnight" asked.

* * *

With Jura and Sherry's pairing, after falling for around 20 seconds, they were close enough to the ground for Jura to use his magic and create two Iron Rock Fists and catch them. Now, the two mages of Lamia Scale were currently heading towards the Oración Seis' base.

"I can't believe that 'Cifer' guy!" Sherry exclaimed. "If he was going to separate all of us, why couldn't he put me with Lyon-sama instead of this lame old man?!"

"Sherry..." Jura started, "I can hear you..." _And I'm 27..._

"So what?! There's no LOVE in us being together, and you know it!"

"If you want love," a man with a geometrical face said, entering the scene, "then the only solution is money, right?"

"'Hoteye' of the 'Heavenly Eyes,' I presume?" Jura asked as he and Sherry got ready to fight.

* * *

With the group consisting of Gray, Juvia, and Lyon, Gray created a slide that stopped them from plummeting to their deaths. You'd think that this would earn Gray some praise, but Lyon ended up catching Juvia as she came off the slide, so it all went to him.

_Yeah, fine, go praise Lyon;_ Gray thought to himself, _after all, I'm _only _the guy who saved our lives and everything. _"If you two are fine, we should head to the Oración Seis' base; it's probably where everyone else is gonna be."

"You came up with that rather fast," a voice from behind them said, making the three turn to see a man with a mohawk dressed like he should be driving a racecar. "Not as fast as me, though."

"You must be 'Racer.' Thanks for coming, pal; you just saved us the trouble of finding you."

"_You're _gonna beat _me? _You won't even touch me. I'm the fastest in the Balam Alliance!"

"That's what she said!"

"And now I've gotten annoyed _very _fast! Dead Grand Prix!" A multitude of motorcycles then appeared out of thin air. "Racer" then got on one and sped off. "Catch me if you can!"

"Juvia, stay here," Lyon said while he stripped. "Gray and I need to ride these motorcycles and have a half-naked magic battle."

"You can be my wingman any day, Lyon," Gray said, also stripping.

"No, Gray, you can be mine."

"No homo, right?"

"All of the homo!"

"Shouldn't you two stop messing around already?!" Juvia yelled.

"Sorry," they said in unison as they got on a motorcycle with Gray driving and chased after "Racer," catching up to him within a minute.

"Nice job," "Racer" said, "but even if you're fast, you're not faster than the fastest guy in the Balam Alliance!" He then stuck his hand out and fired four tires at them.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray yelled, firing lances of solid ice that destroyed three tires, but missed the third one that kept coming at them.

"Ice Make: Giraffe!" Lyon shouted as he made a giraffe's head and neck appear. The head caught the tire in its mouth and threw it at "Racer," making him jump off his motorcycle as it was about to be destroyed. The dark mage landed on his two feet as Gray stopped the vehicle and he and Lyon got off.

"I wasn't expecting that tire to be destroyed," "Racer" said to Lyon. "Impressive."

"But what about-" Gray started.

"That's how we do it in Lamia Scale!" Lyon interjected.

"But I destroyed three of-"

"Nobody cares, Gray!" At that moment, "Racer" jumped at them with incredible "speed" and delivered a lariat to each of their necks, knocking them both into nearby trees.

"Now then," "Racer" said, pulling out a knife, "how 'bout I slit those little throats of yours?"

"You've found our weakness! It's small knives!" Gray then took out his blue Mini Communications Lacrima and held it until Juvia's face appeared.

"Juvia, we should be far enough now," Gray said.

"Right!" Juvia replied as her face vanished.

"'Far enough?'" "Racer" repeated. "...Wait... no way!"

"Yes way. Your pal 'Angel' spilled the beans on all of your powers, so we know that you don't actually make yourself fast; you just make everything in a specific area slow!"

"But my lovely Juvia is outside of that area, so she's now unaffected by your magic!" Lyon said. Before "Racer" could say anything, a giant blast of water appeared and hit "Racer" dead on, defeating him in one hit.

* * *

"Nice job with that attack, Juvia," Lyon said to his girlfriend as the three had now gotten back together with Gray dragging an unconscious "Racer"(now wearing the same "Magic Defender" "Angel" was that would send his location out to the Rune Knights) behind him who was soon propped up against a tree.

"Thank you!" Juvia said with a smile. "Juvia's just glad it hit since her 'Hydro Pump' only had 80% accuracy."

"Why wouldn't you use something with _100%_ accuracy?" Gray asked with a sweat drop.

"Hey!" Lyon yelled. "If she wants to use an attack that might possibly miss in a life-or-death situation, she has every right to!"

"Lyon-sama!" Juvia exclaimed with joy as she kissed him on the cheek.

"...Anyway," Gray started after a facepalm, "there's still a chance that 'Nirvana' will be activated, so you should head to where 'Christina' crashed, Lyon. The Pegasus guys will probably do the same, and you can use your magic to help get it in the air in case 'Nirvana' needs to be fired at. Juvia and I will keep heading towards the base to try and take them out before they can carry out their plans."

"Right," Lyon said. The group then departed in different directions.

_You better get ready, "Cifer," _Gray thought. _I'm comin' for ya, got it?!_

* * *

"Gin Ichimaru!" Wendy shouted out of nowhere. Currently, Natsu's group had just finished fighting the Dark Guilds Naked Mummy, Dark Unicorn, Harpuia, and Red Hood as they continued heading to the Oración Seis' base.

"...What?" Natsu asked, regretting it already.

"Gin Ichimaru! That explains everything!"

"Who's 'Gin Ichimaru?'" Lucy asked.

"He was a character in _Bleach,_" Carla said. "Everyone thought he was a bad guy, but he was actually working with the antagonist, Aizen, in order to have a chance to kill him himself."

"Why did you know that, Carla?" Happy asked.

"...I don't know..." _Oh god, Wendy's rubbing off on me!_

"And this matters because..." Natsu started.

"Because!" Wendy exclaimed. "Jellal must be working with the Oración Seis for some reason besides being evil!"

"...You really think that...?" Erza asked monotonously.

"...Yes...?"

"Wendy... I AM IN NO MOOD FOR YOUR STUPID JOKES!" Wendy was frightened by the sudden outburst and started to shake a little.

"I-I'm sorry, Erza-san. I know that I shouldn't use anime to rationalize this, but... I just want there to be a reason! Jellal was my friend when Grandeeney abandoned me, so I don't want to believe that he'd do something like this! Even if I'm just drawing straws for a reason..." Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Happy knew that her "Jellal" was actually their "Mystogan," but that was a different problem altogether. After about thirty seconds of silence, Natsu Requipped his "Distress Lacrima" into his hand.

"You're not going to use that, are you?" Lucy asked. "He'll get arrested, and we'll never see him again."

"...This is a situation where I'm obligated to do so," Natsu said. "I wanna believe that there's a reason for Jellal to be doing this, like there was with the festival... but I don't see any way there could be..."

"You can't!" Wendy cried. Natsu, ignoring her, moved to press the crystals, when Erza grabbed his arm.

"Erza, I know how you feel about Jellal, but you can't just let your feelings control everything you do."

"I know," Erza said. "I feel that this need to be done as well... but not until I confirm everything myself. Please, just allow me that, Natsu."

"..." Natsu made the "Distress Lacrima" disappear. "Alright."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Pie: I told you it was Jellal.**

**Fox: And I told **_**you **_**not to spoil it!**

**Pie: By the way, aren't you going a little overboard with the references to other people Jellal's seiyū's voiced?**

**Fox: I only referenced two besides Ulquiorra.**

**Pie: Yeah, and one of them was a gay clown! Don't you think that that might send a bad message to our younger readers?!**

**Fox: Nope.**

**Pie: But-**

**Fox: Anyway! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, because it's once again time for...**

* * *

**Wendy: **_**FAIRY CHANNEL!**_ **That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! I'm Wendy Marvell! This is the second episode of **_**Fairy Channel. **_**Wendy's going all-out!**  
**O-kay! Next to me, we have my wonderful assistant! Mr. Fox! Take it away!**

**Fox: I'm Wendy's assistant, FoxOnPie. I'm just a beginner, so I hope you'll all be able to at least remember my name. **

**Wendy(Clapping): Clap, clap clap.*Stops clapping* Okay! Even though we haven't updated a lot lately, we've still been getting a bunch of follows and favorites! Wendy's super happy! Thanks!*Winks***

**Fox: This really is something. I guess you could call it an indication of my popularity.*Wendy sighs* Wh-What?**

**Wendy(In deep voice): "Popularity," he says. We're only up to 29 follows and 20 favorites, you know. Not only that, we don't even have 50 reviews... and yet, "popularity," he says...**

**Fox: Well, this story hasn't even been up a month, so that many in a little under three weeks is impressive, I'm pretty sure.**

**Wendy: Whatever.*Sticks pinky into ear* Granted, we have started to make a small mark, but it's a **_**very**_ **small mark, you know.**

**Fox: I can't do anything about that, though. Basically every Fairy Tail fic nowadays is a romance fic, so an action one like ours can't truly compete.**

**Wendy(Rolling earwax into a ball): That's just an excuse. Action fics can survive in this category. Your two favorites are recent action fics, and they're both pretty popular, aren't they?**

**Fox: You mean the two darkfire1220 wrote? Those **_**are**_** pretty awesome.**

**Wendy: See~?*Flicks away the earwax* He's got good action fics **_**and **_**they're popular. You just need to get better so people ignore the fact that you're a newbie. **

**Fox: How?**

**Wendy(Putting her hand to her chest): Here! Right here! You gotta make 'em feel it right here! If you're just gonna **_**write**_ **this story, a monkey could do it. **

**Fox: A monkey can't...**

**Wendy: HUH?!*The theme music goes off***

**Wendy(In her normal voice): It's time to say goodbye! Time just flies when you're happy, right? And so, send us any questions or comments about the story, please!**

**Fox: We'll see you next time.**

**Wendy: Bye-bye!*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): So yeah. What'll be the extent of my role in this?**

**Fox: What do you mean?**

**Wendy: Y'know. All I've done is be energetic and make references. Not only that, but you also made me a bit of a pervert.**

**Fox: That won't be all you are.**

**Wendy: Then hurry up and-*Screen fades to black***

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	19. Stupid Jellal and A Cruel Fairy's Thesis

**Fox: I just got **_**Ni no Kuni**_ **on Friday, and it is totally awesome!**

**Pie: Don't let it take up too much of your time, now!**

**Fox: I won't! Also, for those who didn't know, my profile has a projected schedule in it so you're not constantly wondering when the next chapter's coming out. With that, it's time for the disclaimer!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Several hours had passed since the battle between the Guild Alliance and the Oración Seis had begun. Currently, "Brain," "Cobra," and Jellal were in front of the tree sealing "Nirvana."

"You know what to do," "Brain" said to Jellal. The Heavenly Body mage then walked up to the tree, placed a hand on it, and it instantly burst into a pillar of black light.

"I really do have thank you for your... 'assistance,' Jellal. While you were on the Council, you discovered a way to release the seal in an instant; even with _my _genius, it would've taken an hour, at best."

"..." was Jellal's response.

"Hey, 'Brain,'" "Cobra" said, "I can hear some voices coming towards us."

"How many?" "Brain" asked.

"Eight in two different groups. One is a pair coming from the southeast, the other is a group of six coming from the southwest."

"_A group of six..." _Jellal thought to himself. _That must be Erza's group..._

"So the children of 'light' still want to fight, do they?" "Brain" said. "Very well then. Jellal! Intercept the group of six! 'Nirvana' can't be deactivated now, but it will take another forty-four minutes for it to reach the second stage; if they're still around then, they'll continue being nuisances."

"..."

"You won't do it? You think that with 'Nirvana' activated, our agreement has been finished?! I can do 'that' anytime I want, so until all of our enemies are crushed, you shall do as I say!"

"...Understood." Jellal activated Descorrer and teleported away.

"Follow him in secret, 'Cobra.' His allegiance is waning, so you need to be there to tell me when to do 'that.'"

"With pleasure," "Cobra" said before exiting with Cuberos. _I actually _hope _you go back on your word, Jellal. After everything you put us through, nothing would be better than hearing you fall into despair._

* * *

"So it's finally activated, eh?" "Midnight" asked to no one after finishing off the last of Blue Pegasus. "Congratulations, father. Now, I will proceed to eliminate every last one of those guild mages before midnight falls." "Midnight" then walked towards the light, either not knowing or not caring of the fact that the people he just defeated had gotten up and ran in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Gantetsu Toge!" Jura shouted, sending spikes of rock at "Hoteye." The dark mage, however, simply waved his hand and the spikes turned into liquid. "Again?!"

"Indeed, 'again,' exactly!" "Hoteye" said. "You may be a Wizard Saint, but against someone like me, instant victory is impossible, right?"

_Dammit...! There's no time for this! If what "Angel" said is true, then that pillar of light is indication of "Nirvana's" first stage, meaning that we should all head there immediately! But this guy's magic makes it impossible to land a hit, and Sherry's not anywhere near his level..._

"This _is _quite the quagmire, isn't it? You need to go to 'Nirvana,' but as long as I'm here, you can't leave at all, right? That's fine with me, exactly! As long as you can't do anything, our plan will go off without a hitch, and we'll make more money than ever! AHAHAHAHA..." "Hoteye" then put his hands to his head. "OHHHHHHHH! Money! Money...! Money...! MONEY!" The man then gave a smile that was so sweet it gave Jura and Sherry diabetes. "...I don't need it at all~~!"

_What the hell?!_ Sherry thought to herself. _Why's he smiling like that?! Could... could his LOVE have been wavering and made him affected by "Nirvana?" _ It was at that moment that "Hoteye" burst into tears.

"I... was desperate to find the younger brother I was separated from... I thought that if I only had the money, I would be able to return to him... but now... I see that was all a mistake, exactly!"

"What...?" Jura asked, his face covered in sweat drops.

"Come... let us put an end to this silly conflict!  
"The world is overflowing with love! AHH! LOVE! Such a sweet and beautiful word, filled with goodness!"

"So true!" Sherry agreed, crying tears of her own.

"As long as there is love in this world, nothing is impossible!"

"Absolutely nothing!"

"Come... let us put an end to my former companions' wanton violence!" He then gave Jura a big hug. "I must teach them of the beauty of love!"

"I'll join you! You are truly a man who understands LOVE!"

"Errrrm..." Jura muttered before getting out of the hug.

_Jura-san, Sherry-san, are you two alright?!_ A voice said in Jura and Sherry's heads.

_Hibiki?_ Sherry asked in her mind. _Where are you and the rest of your guild?_

_We, along with Lyon-kun, are where "Christina" crashed. Now that "Nirvana" has been activated, it's only a matter of time until it reaches its second stage, and this ship is the only thing strong enough to knock an attack from it off course!_

_What should we do, then? _Jura asked in his head.

_Jura-san, you need to head to the beam and defeat as many Oración Seis mages as you can find; Fairy Tail and Cait Shelter are already heading there, so it should be easy. Sherry-san, you need to come to the crash site; your Doll Play magic will help keep "Christina" afloat._

_Right! _Sherry thought. _I'll do it for LOVE!_ The transmission ended and Sherry ran off to the crash site.

"Now..." "Hoteye" said, "let us stop 'Brain' and the others, in the name of love!"

"Q... Quite..." Jura responded as the two earth magic users headed to the beam of light.

* * *

Back with Gray and Juvia, the two of them had almost reached the source of the pillar of light when they were suddenly ambushed by a large assortment of dark mages.

_This isn't good,_ Gray thought to himself. _Juvia's still recharging from taking out "Racer," and my neck is killing me from his lariat! It's gonna take awhile to get through these guys..._ The dark mages then charged straight at the two of them, but Gray pushed them back with a wall of ice, _but they're definitely going down!_

* * *

With Natsu's group, they were steadily making their way towards the beam of light in silence. Natsu and Erza were silent because of the small conflict that transpired regarding their obligations appointed to them by the Chairman, Wendy was silent because of all of this dealing with Jellal, and Lucy, Happy, and Carla were silent because they really had nothing to say. As soon as they got about ten minutes away from "Nirvana," a blue-haired man dressed in white materialized in front of them.

"Jellal..." Erza said with an angry look. Natsu had a look on his face that matched Erza's in ferocity, but the other four weren't sure just what kind of face they were supposed to have.

_Jellal..._ Wendy thought to herself. _Are you really being evil for the sake of evil? Are you really the same Jellal who spent a month with me after Grandeeney left? ...Since I'm thinking of that, he smells kinda different. I wonder why..._  
_  
_"Natsu... Erza..." Jellal said, "you two must surely have the 'Distress Lacrima' given to you by the Council; why haven't you activated them yet?"

"To be honest, I was gonna," Natsu said, "but Erza wanted to talk to you before that."

"...Is that so...?" He then turned his eyes towards Erza who was looking right at him, as well.

"One question," Erza said.

"?"

"There's just one question I have for you, Jellal."

"And it is?"

"...Why?"

"...Because... I am cursed."

"...'Cursed'"

"No matter what I do, no matter what path I take, in the end, I just make others suffer; it is for that reason that I am 'cursed,' and it is for that reason that I am doing this." A wind blew past as they stood in silence.

"...Jellal..." Erza then Requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, "you don't expect me to believe that crap, DO YOU?!"

"In all honesty, no, but I was hoping I would be wrong." _After all, you might find the truth to be unbearable._

"If you won't tell me the truth, then I'll _force_ it out of you! Going by what you've said, I'll be the one to break your 'curse!'" Jellal did nothing for a moment, but then he stuck out his palm and fired a blast of light at Erza that was deflected by a slash from one of her swords.

"...If only such a thing could be done..." Jellal's body then disappeared.

_He's using Descorrer!_ Erza thought to herself. _He'll either appear above, to the sides, or from behind..._ To Erza's surprise, however, Jellal appeared right in front of her.

"Hoag's Ring." A large, black ring shot out from Jellal's chest that collided with Erza and knocked her into a tree. Another one was fired, but she managed to avoid it and, afterwards, Requip a multitude of swords.

"Dance, my swords." The swords spun around in a circle around her. "Circle Sword!" All of the blades shot out at Jellal, but thanks to some quick maneuvers on his part, only a few hit him. When the attack ended, Jellal ended up against a rock with only a second to rest as Erza rushed him in her Morning Star Armor. "Photon Slicer!"

"Meteor!" Jellal narrowly avoided the blast as he jumped away from the rock with incredible speed. Erza then Requipped into her Flight Armor with two swords in hand and caught up in an instant.

"Sonic Claw!" The Requip mage dealt Jellal a great deal of slashes that caused him to deactivate Meteor and fall onto his back. He soon got up, but Erza had already jumped at him to deliver another attack.

"Repel!" Erza was pushed away by magnetism due to her swords and the few metal parts of her outfit. "Attract!" She then started to move closer to him, and as she did, a blackish yellow mass of energy began to accumulate in his right hand. "Gegenschein!" He then fired a beam of magic directly at her.

"Erza!" The five spectators shouted, with Wendy adding a "-san."

"Requip:" Erza started, "Adamantine Armor!" The super defensive armor soon appeared on her body(A/N: From the manga, not the anime version) as she prepared to take the hit. As Jellal's attack made contact, much to everyone's surprise, Erza was completely blown out of the sky and fell to the ground, bleeding all over her body.

"The Adamantine Armor didn't work?!" Happy shouted.

"No way..." Lucy said weakly.

"What the hell?!" Natsu shouted. "That armor could block a 'Jupiter Cannon;' how did an attack like that hurt her?!"

"...So that's it..." Wendy said, looking intensely at Erza.

"?"

"Look closely at Erza-san, Natsu-san."

"...Wait... her armor...!"

"That's right! It's become made of simple cloth!"

"What did you...?" Erza asked as she got up.

"Before firing Gegenschein, I used 'Texture Surprise' on your armor. It's a spell that lets me change the physical properties of inanimate objects. Back at 'Christina,' I used it to make the floor beneath Jura and those other two made of simple straw, and I used it now to make your armor made up of simple fabrics."

"_Those two?" _Wendy thought to herself. _Does he not remember my adorable face? Though, in his defense, that _was _seven years ago; I'm surprised _I _even remember, considering the fact that I was only five._

"This can't be all you're capable of, right, Erza? Didn't you say that you would 'force the truth out of me?' That you would 'break my curse?'" Jellal then paused as he made "Tickover" appear in his hand. "I'm waiting." He then ran at her and delivered an overhead slash, but Erza Requipped into a sarashi and hakama with a katana in hand and blocked the attack. The two mages were then simply pushing against one another; at first, they were even, but Jellal soon had a clear advantage.

"How is Erza losing in a sword fight?!" Lucy asked.

"It's because of Jellal's sword," Natsu said. "It doesn't matter if Erza's better with a blade if her opponent's weapon sucks the magic out of anyone it makes contact with."

"That includes things she's just holding, too?!"

"Unfortunately." Back at the battle, Erza had been forced onto one knee as Jellal kept pressing her. Knowing that keeping it like this would achieve nothing, Erza delivered a sweep to Jellal's leg, causing him to stumble. She then shot up and slashed at his chest, but it was a shallow cut due to how much magic she had lost.

"Repel!" Jellal shouted, causing Erza to be flung a good distance away. "...It's time to end this..." Jellal's body was then covered in a yellow aura; seconds later, a large shadow appeared over all of them.

"What is..." Erza and the others looked up to see a giant ship with a great white sail, female figurehead, and black cannon sticking out of the hull that was pointing directly at Erza.

"Tentai Ōgi(Heavenly Body Secret Technique)." White energy started to form at the mouth of the cannon. "Finomeina Argo Nautica!" A giant beam was fired in a straight path at Erza.

"Yōtō..." Pink energy enveloped Erza katana, "BENIZAKURA!" She jumped up and slashed at the beam with her blade, splitting it in two and causing it to completely miss her.

"YEAH!" Natsu shouted. "That's our strongest female mage for ya!"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Lucy asked.

"Compared to Erza, you're a mouse's left nut. No offense."

"None... taken...?" Back at the fight, Erza kicked the air to launch herself at Jellal and slash at his stomach. When that had finished connecting, she pushed him onto his back, grabbed his left wrist, and pointed her sword at his neck.

"...It looks like this is my loss..." Jellal said with melancholy.

"...Are you still committed to the explanation you already gave me?" Erza asked.

"Yes."

"..."

"Perhaps... this is merely fate, Erza. On the surface, our reasons to fight have been because of the actions of others, but maybe it's just our tragic destiny that's to blame."

"...'Merely fate,' you say... 'tragic destiny,' you say..." Erza then started to cry as she moved her katana away from Jellal's neck. "If that's what our 'fate' is... then I don't want it!" She then thrusted the sword at her stomach to kill herself in seppuku fashion. Natsu was about to jump into the scene and stop her, but ceased doing so when a crying Jellal jumped up and grabbed the blade with his hand, the area he grabbed now covered in his fresh blood.

"No, Erza... no. No matter what I do... no matter how far I fall... you can't die, okay?!"

"Give me a reason, then! Give me a reason that will make me cope with this sad life you're making me live!" It was then that Erza noticed what looked like a photograph sticking out of Jellal's pocket. Upon noticing, she immediately pulled it out.

"Hey!" Erza didn't even hear him, for as soon as she saw the picture, everything around her seemed to vanish.

"What...? How...?" A gust of wind blew the picture out of her hand and towards the spectators where it was quickly caught by Natsu; he and the others immediately studied it.

"It's a picture of two people," Lucy said. "A man and a woman, so they're probably married." The man was on the left in the photo. He was fairly tall with a stern face, brown hair, and chevron mustache. The woman in the photo at his right was a little shorter than the man with a sweet face, well-endowed body, and long, red hair.

"Hey..." Wendy started, "Those faces... that red hair... that giant rack..."

_Why is _that _important enough to mention?_ Carla thought with a sweat drop.

"Are these people... Erza-san's parents?" Everyone's focus shifted back to Erza.

"...Yes..." Erza got out, "but so what? My parents died a long time ago... so who cares about an old photo?"

"Erza..." Jellal started, "that isn't an old photo; if you look at the date on the bottom, you'll see that it was taken September of this year."

"...! Th-Then..."

"Yes, Erza. Your parents are alive... and they're reason why I'm working with the Oración Seis."

"What?!" yelled everyone in unison.

"It all started 16 days ago, when you left to get changed for the parade. 'Brain' contacted me using Telepathy and told me to meet him outside of town." We now go back to the day in question.

* * *

That night, "Brain" was standing against a tree, waiting for his "associate" to show up. And just as he started to contemplate another telepathic message, the man in question appeared.

"Hello, Jellal," "Brain" said. Jellal simply stared at him with a fierce expression. "Why so serious?"

"You know why," Jellal said. For years, he and "Brain" had been accomplices to some degree, but Jellal wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He finally felt able to move away from his past, and with all that happened that day, Fairy Tail would finally let him do so.

"You have one minute to say your piece. After that, I want you out of here. I can't fight you, given the current state of my body, but there's a whole guild just one telepathic message away who'd love to take you on. Now... what. Is. It."

"Do you recall the second to last time we spoke to each other, Jellal?" "Brain" said. "I told you that I had finally located 'Nirvana,' and because of our history together, you asked for me to wait on releasing it so you could find a way to unseal 'Nirvana' in an instant; what a good child, you were...  
"The next time we talked, you told me that you had finally uncovered the method of instant release, so it was arranged that we would meet in order for you to pass the knowledge onto me. This, however, didn't happen, because you apparently 'died fighting Ultear Milkovich to stop _her_ from activating the R-System.'  
"This was clearly some kind of hoax, but, nonetheless, I had no idea where to locate you. At least, not until I saw an article in the paper saying that you, Siegrain's 'brother,' was a new member of Fairy Tail; you wouldn't _believe_ how much I laughed at that!"

"...What's your point?"

"My point is that you can play the good guy as much as you want, but we still have a deal! And now, you're going to honor it and release 'Nirvana!'"

"...Your minute's up; don't show your face around me again." Jellal turned around and walked away, but stopped when he felt something being thrown at him. He did an immediate about-face and caught the object, was surprised to see that it was a photograph, and astonished to see who was in it. "Th-These are..."

"Erza Scarlet's parents? Indeed, it is. They narrowly escaped their deaths eight years ago and have been living peacefully in the eastern part of Fiore, unaware that their lovely daughter is still alive. Wouldn't it be just _tragic_ if they got into a little... 'accident?'" Jellal's face was riddled with fear. "The operation shall commence on Halloween. See you there." "Brain" then walked away with a wicked laugh. Now, back to the present.

* * *

"'Brain' made my parents hostages... to get you to work with him...?" Erza asked.

"Yes. I couldn't say anything that day because you would've gone after him and ruined everything. I couldn't say anything the days inbetween because it was possible that he had stayed in the area and maintained listening distance. I couldn't say anything at 'Christina' because 'Cobra' was there. I couldn't say anything here because I was afraid you'd get angry enough to become a victim of 'Nirvana,' though that last one seems to have been a fear and nothing else."

"If that's true, then what were those things before?"

"What I truly believe. It can't be a coincidence that we keep ending up against each other. Doesn't it make sense... for our lives to be bound by such a fate?"

"...Jellal..."

"?"

"GRIT! THOSE! TEETH!" Erza then delivered a powerful punch to Jellal's face that sent him flying(it should be noted that Wendy had a nosebleed when this happened that was soon wiped away).

_I feel like _I _should've said that..._ Natsu said.

"What kind of crap are you saying, Jellal?! Something like being 'bound by fate' doesn't mean anything! Do you know why?!"

"Why?" Jellal asked getting up.

"Because... YOU AND I ARE MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL!  
"We don't care about fate, or destiny or... tragic whatevers! We don't give a damn about that. Force your way down a path YOU choose to take, and do it all yourself! That's the way Fairy Tail rolls!  
"Even when trapped by karma's cycle... the dreams we left behind will open the door! Even if the universe stands in our way... our seething blood will determine what will be! We'll break through time and space! And defy all who would stop us to grab hold of our path! THAT is what happens when you're in Fairy Tail! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!"

Really _seems like something I should be saying..._ Natsu thought while Wendy had a massive nosebleed.

"Do you understand, Jellal? No matter what problems may arise in your life, as long as you're in Fairy Tail, there is always a way to solve it. So please..." Erza started to cry again, "don't say that our lives are destined to be sad." Jellal, starting to tear as well, looked like he was going to say something, but was interrupted by a man yelling, "I HEAR YOUUUUU!" Everyone turned to the owner of the voice flying in on a snake.

"'Cobra!'" Natsu yelled.

"JELLAL! I just heard your heart, and it's saying that you're not gonna cooperate anymore, no matter what! If that's the case, then our deal is off! Do it, 'Brain!'"

_With pleasure,_ "Brain" said to all of them telepathically. At that moment, a counter starting at twenty appeared in front of everyone's faces that started to go down by the second.

_To all of you children of "light," the man you know as "Cifer" was actually the mage Jellal Fernandes. We were working together because of an agreement, but Jellal doesn't want to do it anymore and must suffer the penalty for backing out. "What's the penalty," you ask? Well... in twenty minutes, the lives of Erza Scarlet's parents shall cease to exist!_

"A truly great thing to hear, isn't it?!"

_And now, to throw you further into despair..._ The black pillar of light vanished into nothing. Then, the ground started to shake as six massive stone structures came up from the ground attached to an equally massive, circular stone structure with appeared to be a city on top, "_Nirvana" is now fully awakened! Soon, that which you view as "light" shall become "darkness," and that which you view as "darkness" will become "light!" And it all starts with the destruction of the only group of people who can interfere: Cait Shelter!_ Wendy and Carla were shocked to hear this. _Just try to stop me, children of "light!" _The transmission ended.

"'Brain...'" Erza said, "YOU BASTARD!" She then ran to the nearest leg when Cobra, on top of Cuberos, flew in front of her.

"You ain't goin' anywhere, Erza," "Cobra" said

"Karyū no Hoken!" "Cobra" was blasted by a giant fist of fire that soon created an explosion around him.

"Natsu Dragneel!"

"Erza, take everyone up to 'Nirvana,' find 'Brain,' and take him out before this timer reaches zero! We can still save your parents!"

"What?!" Erza exclaimed.

"But Natsu," Lucy said, "that's probably just a countdown for when 'Brain' orders some guys to..."

"It isn't," Natsu said. "He brought all of his guys here; if there were any left to spare, he would've just done it already. No, while he was talking, I contacted Hibiki and had him use Archive to find out what kind of magic was going with the timer, and it's a long-range time bomb linked to his consciousness! If we can beat him before time runs out, no one dies!"

"Then we can't just stand around here," Jellal said, grabbing Erza's hand. He then turned to face her. "Erza... 'Brain' is certain that your parents will die... but we _will_ destroy that tragic destiny!"

"Yes!" Erza said with some tears.

"Everyone! Grab onto either me or someone who's already grabbing me!" The people watching did as he requested. Wendy grabbed Jellal's other hand, Carla got onto Wendy's back, and Lucy grabbed onto Jellal's back. "I trust that you'll be handling him, Natsu?"

"Oh yeah," Natsu said as Happy flew onto his back. "I'm too fired up for anything else!"

"Um, Jellal..." Wendy started, "what are we supposed to do now?"

"Hold on."

"Huh?"

"I'm activating the third level of Meteor that far surpasses Fireball in speed: PHOTON STREAM!" Jellal and the people making contact with him, both directly and transitively, became surrounded by a blue aura as Jellal jumped into the air and landed on the leg a great distance up(this was accompanied by screams from everyone except Erza) and kept going up.

"I'm surprised you let them go," Natsu said as Happy activated Aera and lifted him high into the air.

"Doesn't matter," "Cobra" said as Cuberos lifted him up as well. "No way any of them can stop 'Brain,' and before they even _get _to him, 'Midnight'll' take 'em out. Besides..." "Cobra's" arms became covered in scales and his fingernails grew longer, "I wouldn't wanna miss out on beating a lousy First Gen, now would I?!"

"Bring it, then."

"Dokuryū no Hōkō!" "Cobra" shot a giant blast of poison from his mouth, but Natsu was able to avoid it. "I HEARD YOU!" Cuberos flew its master right in front of Natsu so he could deliver a punch to his face.

"Karyū no Tekken!" Natsu tried to punch "Cobra," but he dodged it.

"I can hear that, too! I know all of your strategies, like how you're gonna use the same attack again!"

"Is that right?" Natsu said, right in his face.

_When did he-_ Before the thought was finished, "Cobra" was punched in the face and knocked off of Cuberos before being safely caught.

"You must also know that my next attack is my Burning Breath, right?" Natsu then unleashed a massive blast of fire from his mouth that hit "Cobra" dead center; this time, though, he maintained his ground. "It doesn't matter if you know what I'm gonna do if you can't defend against it, ya know!"

"Don't you mock me! Metsu Ryū Ōgi(Dragon Slayer Secret Technique)! Jyaaku Kiba(Evil Fang): Nebaneba Shot(Gunk Shot)!" A brownish purple mass was shot from "Cobra's" mouth.

"Happy!"

"Aye!" Happy said. He then threw Natsu directly at the mass.

"Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka(Fire Dragon's Flowing Flame Blade)!" Natsu's right arm became covered in a blade of fire which he used to cut "Cobra's" mass in half and only get touched a little.

"NO WAY!" "Cobra" shouted.

"Hear this." Natsu said, landing on top of the snake. He then took a deep breath and let out an extremely high-pitched scream that made "Cobra" lose consciousness and fall into a tree. Natsu then jumped into the tree after him and put one of the Council's tracking "Magic Defenders" on him.

"That was AWESOME, Natsu!" Happy shouted as he flew to him. "But... aren't you worried about the poison on you?"

"No;" Natsu said as he wiped all of it off, "for some reason, I don't feel any sort of effects."

"Maybe you got antibodies from your fight in the first timeline."

"But only my _memories_ were sent to the past!"

"...The memory of the fight made your body create them, or something...?"

"Doesn't matter. Let's just head up there as fast as we can."

"Aye, sir!"

* * *

Away from there, Erza's group had finally reached the top of "Nirvana."

"I think I'm gonna barf," Lucy said, still affected from the high speed in which they got there. "Is this what it feels like to be Natsu?"

"Get it together, Lucy!" Erza yelled. "We only have a little over fifteen minutes to defeat 'Brain!' Now let's go find him!"

"...You four go without me," Jellal said.

"What?! Why?!"

"There's a guy here who _reaaaaally_ wants to kill me." Everyone turned to face the same direction Jellal was to see "Midnight" walking towards them. "If we fight him together, then _all _of us rather than _one _of us will be wasting energy. Leave this guy to me." The four girls nodded and ran in the opposite direction.

_Don't lose, Jellal. Not to "fate," and especially not to this guy!_ They were out of sight in a few seconds.

"So you're the next person I have to destroy?" "Midnight" asked. "...That's great! Ever since I learned we'd be working together, I've been looking for an excuse to kill you, the man who ruined my life!"

* * *

After leaving Jellal, the girls kept running until they eventually ran into Gray, Juvia, Jura, and "Hoteye."

"Before you say anything," Jura started, "Richard-dono is our ally now."

"Exactly!" Richard shouted.

"'Ally,' you say?" A horribly familiar voice said a little up from the group.

"'Brain!'" They shouted.

"So many children of 'light' gathered together for me to destroy; it's truly a beautiful thing." He then noticed Wendy in the crowd. "I didn't expect _you _to be here, 'Sky Priestess.'" Wendy twitched at the mention of the words.

"You know this man, Wendy?!" Carla asked.

"...No..." She weakly responded. _We have to deal with "Nirvana." This isn't the time or place to talk about my past... especially since I don't want to remind myself of something like that..._

"Now, then..." "Brain" started, "there are only a little over ten minutes until time runs out; who wants to try me?" Gray and Jura stepped forward, but Erza got in front of both of them.

"He's mine, and mine alone," Erza said.

"What?!" Gray responded.

"Erza-dono, this is a very serious situation," Jura said.

"I know, that's why I have to do it alone... but not just for personal reasons."

"? What do you mean?"

"I mean... with all the anger I'm feeling... I might not be able to differentiate between friend and foe!" Erza then Requipped into an armor that was very different from her usual ones. It was all purple and completely covered her body. Atop her head was a helmet with a horn and mouth cover with a sort of zigzag pattern. The chest plate had three holes on each side and large, vertical fins were attached to the shoulders.

"Been a long time since she's used _that,_" Gray said with a sweat drop.

"Is there something special about that armor?" Juvia asked.

"Damn right, there is! She only uses it when she's really pissed off, so it's not very well known, but that armor's on par with her Purgatory Armor _and _Armadura Fairy; maybe even stronger than the two of them!"

"Even stronger?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah... the Neon Genesis Armor!" The zigzag line opened up to reveal Erza's mouth surrounded by white teeth.

"'Brain...'" she started, "prepare to feel a cruel fairy's thesis!" Wendy then bled a lot from her nose.

"I couldn't hold it in anymore..." She said with a dazed look.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Pie: I'm pretty certain Jellal's gonna win, but can Erza really beat "Brain?"**

**Fox: Of course! Even if she can't, she's not leaving until "Brain" goes down.**

**Pie: Why's that?**

**Fox: Because... she musn't run away. She musn't run away. She musn't run away. She musn't run away.**

**Pie: Okay, I got that, good, okay. Now, if she **_**were**_ **to run away, let's analyze that. Where the **_**fuck **_**would she go?! She's on a big, stone spider!**

**Fox: ...I don't know.**

**Pie: And what's that stuff going on with Wendy?**

**Fox: You'll find out~~~!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	20. Midnight and the Brain

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Spring. X776. Pergrande Kingdom. A Tuesday. In a house located a small walk away from the local shrine, a four-year-old Wendy Marvell was happily playing with her toys while her parents hung out in the other room. Everything was calm and peaceful... until the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Young Wendy said. She gleefully ran to the door and swung it open. "Hello!" It was then that Wendy saw just who was at the door. It was a dark-skinned man with long, white hair who wore a black suit.

"...You are Wendy Marvell... the 'Sky Priestess,' correct?" He said. Wendy didn't make any sort of response; for some reason, she felt terrified of this person.

"Who was at the door, Wendy?" A man who was presumably her father said as he walked into the room. The man was a little above average height with short, black hair. He wore a light green kimono underneath red hakama, wore a blue ring on his right hand, and had brown eyes that were completely focused on the stranger. "Can we help you, sir?"

"Who is it, Atmos?" A woman, obviously Atmos' wife and Wendy's mother, said as she walked in. This woman's face looked exactly like Wendy's and her blue hair reached the same length that Wendy's did in the present. She wore a plain white t-shirt and jean shorts, had a ring the same as her husband's, and her blue eyes were also focused on the stranger. "Yes?" The stranger turned away from Wendy and looked at Atmos.

"You must be Atmos Marvell, head of the Marvell Shrine," the man said. "And you..." he turned to the woman, "you must be his wife, Cait Marvell; you're even more stunning than they say." Cait blushed at this. "It's good to meet you all. My name is Daz Love, but a few of my associates call me 'Brain.' I would like to have a discussion with you about your daughter."

* * *

The present.

_Why am I remembering this now? _Wendy thought to herself. _This isn't the time. Even though it's _him... _I can't get caught up by that right now. The only thing for me to do... is watch Erza-san's fight..._ Currently, Erza, in her Neon Genesis Armor, was using a bowie knife to trade blows with "Brain's" staff which, for some reason, made a noise resembling a scream each time it connected with the knife.

"_Surely _this isn't your best, 'Titania,'" "Brain" said. "You only have eight minutes until your precious family are blown to smithereens and you can't even touch me."

"You think so?" Erza asked. At that moment, the right fin opened up and fired spikes at "Brain;" he dodged the majority of them, but two still got him in the arm.

"That's more like it," "Brain" said, pulling out the spikes. "It's always more enjoyable to take out the trash when it doesn't smell _completely _awful." "Brain" raised his staff and made dark phantoms gather around it. "Dark Rondo!" He fired the phantoms at Erza, but she Requipped a large, triangular shield that was able to nullify it. When the dust from the attack cleared, "Brain" had gotten right behind Erza. "Dark Capriccio!" A spinning beam of darkness was fired at Erza, but rather than try to dodge, she threw her knife at the tip with a spin. When the two attacks collided, both stopped spinning and dropped to the ground. "What?!"

"Amazing..." Jura said, "Erza-dono threw her knife at 'Brain's' attack with a spin opposite to his, causing both to lose their rotations!" Erza then jumped into the air and dealt "Brain" a roundhouse kick to the left side of his head, sending him flying into a building.

"Haze of Bardiel!" Erza shouted. The armor around her hands and arms shot off and grabbed ahold of "Brain," lifted him into the air, and dealt him a nasty piledriver. The arms then let go and went back to their original place.

"That's _gotta _hurt!" Lucy exclaimed as "Brain" got up.

"Time to stop playing around..." "Brain" said as blood dripped down from his head. "Dark Lick!" A rectangular mass of dark energy that was circular on one side was fired from Brain's staff at Erza. Erza, however, Requipped another knife, this one a utility knife, and cut it in two. This, however, was expected, as "Brain" was right behind his attack when it was cut. "Dark Ostinato!" A large, black beam was fired from the staff that hit Erza dead center and pushed her back a great deal.

"Was that supposed to-" Erza started before an identical beam blasted her.

"Again." She was blasted. "Again." She was blasted. "Again." She was blasted. "AGAIN!" She was blasted and, with this shot, into a building.

"ERZA!" Gray shouted. He looked like he was going to jump in, but Jura put an arm in front of him to make him stop.

"...Fish of..." Erza said in the rubble, "GAGHIEL!" A blast of water shaped like a monstrous fish collided with "Brain," knocking him to the ground. Erza then jumped from the rubble and got up above "Brain;" it was here that we see the armor broken around the chest, revealing a brown, skin-tight bodysuit.

"Strength of Zeruel!" The armor around Erza's right arm morphed into a black object with a circular tip, red dots at the center and sides, and a white rhombus above the center dot. As she fell to the ground, the Requip mage used this to deliver a punch to "Brain's" stomach that created enough force to crack the ground around them.

"Dark... Hook!" "Brain" shouted, summoning a black beam that coiled around Erza and threw her off of him. "I've had enough of you!" He shouted as he barely got up. "Time to put an end to this!" Green energy began to gather around his fingers. "Look on the bright side, 'Titania;' even if you are to die, you'll at least see your parents again! HAHHAHAHAHAHHAAAA! ...?!" The energy faded from "Brain's" fingers as he put one to his face. "No..." As he did this, one of his three remaining "Prayers" began to disappear from his face.

_A "Prayer" is gone... did Jellal win?!_

"The degree of this... it can't be... my son is... dead...?!" We now go back a few minutes to when Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and Carla had left Jellal alone so he could fight "Midnight."

* * *

"Jellal..." "Midnight" said to him, "do you realize everything I went through at the Tower of Heaven, or rather, the 'Tower of Hell?' The cruelty of the guards had me terrified every second of every day; it was so awful that I couldn't sleep at night! But do you know what made it go from bad to worse?" He pointed at the man in front of him. "YOU! When we all had a chance to escape, you kept us all there in that prison for your own selfish desires, and my living nightmare continued! All because of YOUUUU! What do you have to say for yourself, you son of a bitch?!"

"...Nothing," Jellal said.

"'Nothing?!'"

"I acknowledge that I'm responsible for what you've accused me of, but it's gone past the point of apology, so I won't try to make amends by offering one."

"Yeah... a simple apology won't atone for your sins... the only way for that to happen is if you die!"

"That is also wrong. If I die, my mark on the world doesn't vanish; it stays there and is forever remembered. No... the only way to truly atone is by doing enough good to make the bad be forgotten! 'Midnight...' even though you have every right to destroy me, defeating you is a part of my atonement, so this will end with _my _victory!" Jellal then activated Meteor and jumped right at "Midnight" and punched him in the face.

"Sonuva-" Before "Midnight" finished, Jellal was behind him and delivered an enzuigiri.

"I know all about your magic, 'Midnight.' You can twist and bend objects either around you or in a nearby area, but it doesn't work on living beings. Therefore, if I only use physical attacks..." Jellal then threw "Midnight" to the ground, dug his left knee into his back, and pulled his right arm and leg back with tremendous force(A/N: This move is called the "Triple Beefcake: First Part"), "you can't touch me!"

"B-Bastard..." "Midnight" then used Reflector on the ground to spin the both of them incredibly fast; the force of said rotation threw Jellal off of him, though he landed on his feet. "Even if I can't destroy you directly..." he said while getting up, "I can twist your clothes and strangle you!" Jellal's outfit began to twist around him, but it immediately snapped back into place. "What?!"

"Even though we were working together, I suspected that one of you would try to attack me if you had the chance. In preparation for you doing so, I wore an outfit composed of elastic material, meaning it _already _bends!"

"!"

"This battle is over, 'Midnight!'"

"...'Over,' you say..." "Midnight" then began to laugh. "Like hell, it is!" "Midnight" then fired a mass of dark energy at Jellal, knocking him into a nearby building.

"Th-That attack... 'Dark Rondo?!'"

"I have long since surpassed my father, so wouldn't it be weird if there was something _he _could do that _I _couldn't?! Now... die! Dark Capriccio!" Spiraling beams were fired from his hands directly at Jellal, but Jellal dodged with Meteor. "You won't get away!" With a little hand movement, the beams turned to follow Jellal and kept chasing him. Eventually, Jellal ended up heading towards "Midnight's" back and suddenly flew up when he almost collided with him. "Like that'll work!" The beams vanished right before they touched "Midnight."

_I don't have time for this...! This has to be finished _NOW! "Photon Stream!" Jellal's body became covered in a blue aura before he disappeared.

"What?!" "Midnight" began looking around with great speed. "Where'd he go?!"

"Big Bang..." Jellal's voice said from behind, making "Midnight" turn to see him in a battle stance with his right arm glowing a bright yellow. "IMPAAAAAAAAAACT!" Jellal proceeded to deliver a punch that was so powerful that it went right through "Midnight's" chest.

_...Why..._ It was here that "Midnight" thought about a day very important to him. It was eight years ago, a few days after "Brain" had taken him, "Racer," "Angel," "Cobra," and Richard into his guild; the mage in question was dealing with yet another sleepless night...

* * *

_Why..._ "Midnight" thought to himself as he sat on his bed in a fetal position. _Why do I have to go through this? I never did anything, yet I've been forced to suffer... why?!_

_It is because of this world betraying you,_ "Brain" said in his mind as he walked into the room.

"...What...?"

"I was once like you, child. When I was younger, I was greatly betrayed by the world, and it seemed like everything happened just to hurt me. But that is wrong. It wasn't the world that tried to destroy me, it was this false world that we all live in. Once I realized this, I knew what I had to do: I had to revive the original 'light.'"

"The original... 'light...?'" "Brain" then put a hand on his shoulder.

"There was no one to help me during my crisis, but I promise you that I will be at your side, my child." At the mention of "child," "Midnight" let out tears and cried into "Brain's" chest. We now return to the present.

* * *

_All I wanted... was to fall asleep... I can do that now, so why... why..._ "Midnight" started to cry, _why do I want to stay awake now?! _"Father..." That was the last thing he said before the last of his life faded away. Jellal then took his fist out of "Midnight's" body and put him on the ground.

"...Even though it means nothing..." Jellal said, "for everything that happened to you and the rest of the Seis..." He moved a hand towards "Midnight's" face and pulled down his eyelids, "I'm sorry." Jellal then turned away and headed in the direction Erza and the others ran off in a few minutes ago.

* * *

Spring. X776. Pergrande Kingdom. A Tuesday. After introducing himself, Atmos and Cait Marvell allowed Daz Love("Brain") into their home to hear what he had to say. When he told them what his intentions were, they were, to say the least, stunned.

"You want to 'study' our daughter?" Atmos asked as the four of them sat in the living room.

"Something like that," Daz said to him. "In the kingdom of Fiore, I am in charge of the Bureau of Magical Development, a government facility with the goal of unleashing the full capabilities of magic. We work towards this by creating Artificial Magic, restoring Lost Magic, and, the reason I'm here," he turned to Wendy, making her jump a little, "breaking the limitations of those with incredible potential."

"And our Wendy goes with the last one, does she not?" Cait asked.

"Most definitely. From what I've heard, even though she's just a child, her magic is already stronger than yours was as a teenager, Mrs. Marvell, and she hasn't even received any true training yet! Just think about it; all mages are bound by limitations that only take true effect starting in adolescence, so if we can get out all of her inner power now while she is still a child, by the time she's twelve, she'll have taken this entire country, no, this continent by storm!"

"...So what are you asking for, Love-san?"

"I would like permission to take your daughter with me back to Fiore in order to properly study her inner magic."

"We refuse," Atmos said.

"...It's not like I'm trying to steal her, Mr. Marvell. You would be allowed to visit her whenever you wish, and I would constantly be sending you pictures and videos of what's happening so you don't grow distrusting..."

"Wendy, could you leave us grown-ups alone for a minute?" The little girl got up from her seat and slowly exited the room; unbeknownst to them, though, she hid in the next room to listen. "I'll say it again, Daz: you will not do anything with my daughter."

"But I'm trying to _help _her! Give me a reason why this is wrong!"

"We have three. First, your lie about the Bureau of Magical Development."

"What do you-"

"Love-san," Cait interjected, "we may be a long way from Fiore, but we know of things that go on there. The Bureau of Magical Development was destroyed two years ago, was it not?"

"B-But that was merely from a faulty experiment! And, currently, we have small research centers set up until the main one can be rebuilt, so it's virtually the same."

"Even if that's true, the initial lie says that dishonesty can be expected, does it not?"

"..."

"Now it's time for the second reason, is it not? There are some _very _nasty rumors about you, Love-san, are there not? People have said things like, 'That man was an accomplice of Grimoire Heart,' and, 'he slaughtered a bunch of people a few years ago,' have they not?"

"..."

"I'm not saying that I believe all of these things, but assuming they _were _true..." Cait then got a very serious look on her face, "it would be a bad thing as a parent to trust you, would it not?"

"Your fears are merely based on rumors! I only have the purest intentions at-" Daz stopped talking as he suddenly fell over from his chair apparently turning into leaves. _What?! Was that... the Marvell family's signature magic?!_

"Reason number three!" Atmos said, getting up from his chair. "Though, in all honesty, this was the only one we needed. Ever since you came here, our daughter has been shaking with fear! I don't know your true intentions, but they aren't good! Now... GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

* * *

The present.

_Again with these memories..._ Wendy thought to herself. _It's not like they ever vanished from my head... I just haven't had a need to recall them. Why now, though? Why..._

"Erza-dono!" Jura shouted. "'Brain' is distracted! Finish this!"

"Water of Sachiel!" Erza shouted as she ran up to still freaking out "Brain" and fired a laser from her hand that knocked him into the air. "Requip: Spear of Longinus!" In her right hand appeared a large, red spear with a forked tip that seemed to form a spiral that got continuously smaller.

"'Brain...' there's only one reason why you lost to me: you pissed me off." She then threw the weapon with tremendous force, stabbing him in the stomach and impaling him onto a wall.

"The timer..." Lucy started, "it's gone!"

"Erza did it!" Gray shouted.

"EXACTLY!" Richard added. Everyone else then joined in with their own cheers. Everyone, that is, except for Wendy and Carla.

"You've been awfully quiet, Wendy," Carla said. "With 'Brain' defeated and 'Nirvana' now under our control, I would've expected you to say something like, 'All your base are belong to us.' Not only that, but once the fight started, you didn't have a single nosebleed despite all of the references."

"...I guess... I was distracted..." Wendy said.

_This clearly has something to do with "Brain..." and, apparently, the girl's past, as well. Wendy rarely talks about her life before joining the guild, so I have no idea what she's hiding from me; how can I get her to talk?_

_...With this, you're finally done, "Brain." Your evil has finally been shattered, and you won't hurt anyone like you hurt me again. Now, maybe, mom and dad can..._ As Wendy's thoughts trailed off, Natsu and Happy flew into the scene.

"You sure took your time getting here," Lucy said. "What happened?"

"Long story short, we need to start packing less cheese when we leave town," Natsu said. "Anyway, it looks like my absence didn't even matter; Erza did one heckuva number on 'Brain!'"

"She sure did," someone said, also entering the scene.

"Jellal!" Erza exclaimed.

"I finished my fight a moment ago and came to-" he was then cut off by Erza, still wearing her armor, giving him a hug.

"It's over, right?"

"...Yeah," Jellal hugged her back. "It's over."

_Jellal..._ Gray thought to himself. _You really were "Cifer." Every part of my body is saying that I should beat the crap outta you... but I know I can't. You're one lucky guy, Jellal. _The two soon ended their embrace and gathered with the rest of the group.

"What is the plan now, Natsu-dono?" Jura asked.

"Simple. We destroy this thing."

_Even if he acts smart, Natsu still prefers brawn over brain, I guess. _Lucy thought to herself.

"We all have the layout of 'Nirvana' from what 'Angel' told us, so now we just have to head to the six Lacrima and destroy them simultaneously."

"About that..." Happy started, "why are there six Lacrima if there are seven legs?"

"Juvia counts eight," Juvia said.

"Look, there'll be six, okay?!" Natsu shouted.

"Also," Gray started, pointing at Richard, "what about him?"

"Richard-dono," Jura said to him, "even though we have all become friends... you still must go to jail when this is done."

"That's fine," Richard said. "Even though my good nature has awoken, my sins from the past won't disappear. I think it'll be best if I start over."

"..." Natsu ellipsed. "But before that, I know who your brother is."

"?! You've met Wally?!"

"Yeah. He's traveling the continent right now, but I'm sure we can find him so he can pay you a visit in jail." Richard then proceeded to cry.

"This must be the miracle that is only given to people who believe in the light. Thank you. Thank you... thank you!" A noise then rang out. _Hmm? What was that noise? That sure was weird. Even weirder, everyone is running towards me... how odd. Not only that, there seems to be something odd with my chest..._ Richard then looked down to see a large hole in his body. "W-Wally..." He then dropped dead.

"Richard-dono!" Jura shouted. Everyone then felt a surge in magical energy, causing them to turn to see a standing "Brain" who had just pulled Erza's spear out of him, and now his injuries were somehow vanishing along with his last "Prayer."

"Oh my god!" Natsu shouted. "He killed Richard!"

"You bastard!" Jura lunged at "Brain," but he was blasted away by a spell.

"Who was it...?" "Brain" asked. "Who made me kill 'Hoteye...?' Who made me bring out 'Zero...?' Who... who... WHO KILLED MY SON?!" His skin then started to get lighter. "I know who it was... I know who it was..." Then, before anyone could act, "Brain" had stabbed Jellal with a blade of dark energy constructed at the end of his staff. "IT WAS YOU! JELLAL FERNANDES!"

"Jellal!" Erza shouted as she and the others[minus Jura, Happy, Carla, and Wendy(who just stood there)]ran to help him before being pushed away by a wall of magic.

"It's because of _you _that my son is dead!" "Brain" shouted as he kept stabbing his body while most of the people were on the ground in pain.

"Wendy!" Carla shouted. "The other's are struggling! You need to help!" Wendy made no response. "Wendy?"

_It's happening again..._ Wendy thought to herself. _It's happening again..._ While thinking these statements, Wendy also remembered two vivid images: her father lying on a hospital bed covered in blood, and her mother getting stabbed through the chest. _This man, Daz Love... he's hurting people I care about again... and I can't do anything to stop it again!_ While this was going on in her head, "Brain," whose skin was now almost all white, had made Jellal fall to the ground.

"I shall have my vengeance towards the 'light...'" "Brain" said, "and it starts with you! DIE!"

"_Die?!" _Images of her parents on their deathbeds kept replaying in Wendy's head. _No. No. No. Nononononononononononononono ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~!_ "Brain" moved his staff's blade towards Jellal, but never made contact as he was blown into a wall by a large blast of wind.

"W...What...?" Jellal asked weakly. Everyone there then turned to see Wendy crying with her arms extended.

"If anyone's dying... it's you! DAZ LOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEE!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	21. Stigma of the Wind and Daz's Sorrow

**Fox: We're finally at the end of the arc, people! After this chapter, there'll be a little fluff and comedy, and then we head straight into an original mini-arc!**

**Pie: Yay!**

**Fox: And after that, it's time for Edolas!**

**Pie: Yay...**

**Fox: What's with that reaction, Pie?**

**Pie: I didn't like Edolas very much. It was a little boring if you asked me.**

**Fox: Maybe... but I'll make it better!**

**Pie: And don't get me started on Lisanna's retconning...**

**Fox: Yeah... not gonna say how I feel on that one...**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

In the time Natsu knew Wendy in the first timeline, he had gotten to see a lot of her. He saw her act sweet and innocent, he saw her act clumsily, he saw her act flustered and embarrassed, and, a few times, he saw her act confident. In this timeline, he saw her be confident from the start, along with seeing her exhibit some other... unique characteristics. But right now, the Wendy right before everyone's eyes, exhibiting incredible strength and threatening someone with death... that was entirely new.

"I'm going to die, am I?" "Brain(?)" asked, his skin now completely white. "And, from what just happened, are _you _to be the one to kill me?" He then Requipped a new outfit. "If anyone is to be doing any killing... it is I, 'Zero!'" He smashed his staff in his hand when he said this; for some reason, a scream was heard when this happened.

"I won't even need magic to wring your little neck, 'Sky Priestess!'" "Zero" said as he charged at Wendy. Before he even got over halfway there, though, she swiped the air diagonally and blasted him with more wind. "Impudent little-" "Zero" was cut off by three more identical blasts hitting him and knocking him into a building. When he got out of the rubble, he noticed some fresh blood on his arm.

_What?!_ "Zero" thought to himself. _I'm bleeding?! This little brat has injured me, "Zero?!"_

"Get over here, Daz Love..." Wendy said as a huge wind was created that shattered the stone structures around her, "I'm not done with you yet!"

_What incredible power...! So this is the girl "Brain" sought out eight years ago... if he had succeeded in winning her over..._ It was then that "Zero" saw the other mages get up(Jellal, though, was being carried by Erza). _So I guess they all want to fight, now..._  
**  
**_Don't be an idiot, "Zero," _a voice in his head said.

_?! "Brain?!"_

_Don't give into your love of destruction right now; you can't fight all of them at once, especially with the "Sky Priestess'" boost in strength._

_You dare order _me _around?! Do not forget who is the stronger one here!_

_Only in strength! I surpass you intellectually, and only by working together for once will we win this fight!_

_...What do you have in mind, then?_

"_Nirvana" is almost in firing range of Cait Shelter, but they probably have a way to stop the initial shot. They'll try to destroy the Lacrima afterwards, so we can use that as a chance to get them separated._

_Not my style... but alright. _"Zero" then formed a black ball and threw it into the air. "Dark Flash!" The ball exploded and made the area pitchblack. When light returned, "Zero" was gone.

"I can still smell him!" Wendy yelled. "He won't get away!" She then began to run in some direction, but was stopped by Carla grabbing at her dress.

"Stop it, Wendy!" Carla said. "You need to calm down, okay?!"

"'Calm down...'" Wendy then proceeded to kick Carla away from her.

"Carla!" Happy cried.

"Don't boss me around, you stupid cat! It's his fault that my parents are dead, and he just tried to kill Jellal! I can't calm down while he's alive! I'm going to definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY-" Wendy was cut off by Jellal coming over to her and slapping her across the face.

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! WENDY MARVELL!" Jellal yelled.

"Jellal..." Wendy said, rubbing where she was hit. She then looked at Carla, still hurt from when Wendy kicked her. "Carla... I... I..."

"It's alright, Wendy," she said with a smile.

"I..." Wendy then proceeded to cry with extreme sorrow, making Jellal hug her.

_This girl..._ Jellal thought to himself, _to think that she was holding in so much. If we had let her get it all out through fighting and murder, it surely would've destroyed her... like it almost did to me..._

"Fluff aside," Natsu said, breaking the moment a tad, "we need to split up and destroy the Lacrima."

"Natsu-dono is right," Jura, returning after being blasted away, said. "We have enough mages, but 'Zero' will surely be guarding one of them. Natsu-dono, you have the most strength left out of all of us, so I'm trusting you to find him and defeat him."

"You don't have to tell me twice! But it won't just be me..." He then walked over to Jellal and Wendy and pulled the small girl out of Jellal's arm and put her on his back. "I'm takin' this girl with me!"

"Huh?!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Hey!" Carla shouted. "You think I'll just let you do that?!"

"Nope," Natsu replied. "Doing it anyway, though." The Dragon Slayer then proceeded to run away from the group.

"If he gets her hurt, so help me..."

"...Anyway," Jura started, "we all need to follow Natsu-dono's and Wendy-dono's lead. 'Christina' will soon arrive to stop the initial shot, so everyone must get to a Lacrima and prepare to destroy it in a little over twenty minutes." Everyone nodded and dispersed in different directions with Happy and Carla following Lucy and Jellal following Erza.

"Hey, Erza..." he said to her.

"What is it?" Erza asked.

"That girl... 'Wendy,' was it? Was she really so worked up because of me?"

"...Seems like it." _This isn't her "Jellal," but he was still the cause of her anger. _"Why?"

"..." Jellal gave a small smile. "It was nice... seeing someone care about me so much, I mean." Erza smiled back at him and they continued heading towards one of the Lacrima.

* * *

Back with Natsu and Wendy, the latter still being piggybacked, they had almost arrived at the Lacrima "Zero" was guarding.

"Um..." Wendy began, "Natsu-san..."

"Y'know," Natsu said, "I'm kinda tired of '-san.' Could you do me a favor and drop the honorific?"

"Huh? ...Okay. Natsu... why did you want me to come along with you?"

"Because of the way you were schooling 'Zero' back there!"

"?"

"I had no idea you could cut loose like that, and I wanna see just how strong you truly are! Also... you still wanna smash his face in, don't you?" The images of Wendy's parents when they died flashed in her mind again.

"Yeah!"

"Alright, then! ...By the way, do you know any attack moves besides your roar?"

"...No."

"Really?!"

"I'm sorry! Grandeeney mostly taught me support magic before she left!"

"Yare yare daze(A/N: Basically means "good grief")." Natsu then put his left index finger to his temple.

"What are you- ! This is..."

"I'm using Telepathy to give you instructions for some of my moves.; we don't have a lot of time, so I can only give you four. Do your best to memorize them, alright?"

"Yes!"

* * *

At one of the Lacrima, "Zero" was standing in front of the aforementioned crystal, waiting for an opponent to show up. While waiting, a large sound was heard, telling him that "Nirvana's" attack was redirected and it would be twenty minutes before another went off.

_..."Zero..." _"Brain" said in his mind. _If we want to win, we need to work together._

_Huh?! _"Zero" responded in his mind. _You think that me listening to you one time has made us a team? I do my thing, and you do yours; _that's _how it works!_

_Yes, and it's because of that that we haven't destroyed each other mentally... but it can't work like that anymore. You say you only want destruction, but deep down, you desire what I do as well, right?_

…

_If we fall here, then everything we've sought after will never be achieved; the only way to come out on top here is with a complete victory, and we can only do that if we act as one!_

_...Let's see what we can destroy together..._ It is here that the tragic story of "Zero," no, "Brain," no, Daz Love, shall be told.

* * *

Ever since he was a boy, Daz was a strong supporter of the world government. Every day, they helped maintain peace throughout the world and were looked upon as heroes by the people, making Daz want to be a part of that world. At the age of 20, he landed a job in the Bureau of Magical Development, located in Minstrel at the time, and ten years later, he became in charge of it all. At this point, he had married, had a child, and lost his wife in a tragic accident, but he was still happy with his life and the world. At least, until the Cabria War started in the year X764.

As a member of the world government, Daz was neutral regarding the war, so he did his best to ignore it. But one day, a battle between the Gohra Army of the east and Sumlary Army of the west had put Daz's home in the middle of the crossfire. When it had ended, Daz was hospitalized, and his son was dead. The pain and sorrow he felt cannot be described, but what made it worse was that the Western forces were using Artificial Magic created during his time as head of the Bureau.

As head of the Bureau of Magical Development, Daz was to be notified of when and where Artificial Magic was distributed, but, to his recollection, none had been distributed to anyone involved with that war since it began. He told this to the Chairman of the Magic Council, Absoliutus Teisingumas, who emotionlessly said that he sold them to the West under the table to help them win.

"You what?!" Daz said at the time.

"It couldn't be helped, Daz-san," the Chairman said. "From the beginning, I felt like it would be best if the West won, but it's been a pretty evident stalemate so far. I needed to break the tie, so I helped the West the best way I knew."

"This is a clear violation of my Bureau's protocol..."

"You gotta break the rules, sometimes."

"This goes against everything the Council... and the government stands for..."

"For the public, yes. However, we actually do anything to maintain as much of a balance as possible. Something like this is quite normal."

"...My son..."

"?"

"My son was killed because of this!"

"..." Absoliutus gave Daz a cold look. "Daz-san... the loss of a little brat who would just grow up to be a lousy mage doesn't interest me in the slightest. Next time you try to make a point, say something that's worth caring about." That was the last Daz could endure. To think that the government that he always admired would be so cold and unforgiving. Something snapped inside of him. A black aura enveloped him. Tears rolled down his face. His skin turned white. It was here that "Zero" was born, and the first thing he did was attack the Chairman. The Chairman easily dodged and called in Rune Knights, but they were easily killed; it took three hours and a large assortment of agents from the Sen'ya Ichiya to take him down. Daz was arrested and would've received a life sentence, but because of his status, he only received a year long sentence and was allowed to return to his position upon release. At this point, though, Daz was forever changed. He came to the conclusion that the peaceful world that everyone lived in, the world of "light," was nothing but a lie; the true face of the world was that of a hideous "darkness."

"Despite this, the true 'light' must exist underneath the 'darkness.' It's being suffocated by this false world... this false 'light...' and _I _must be the one to bring it back, even if the false 'light' is destroyed!" was what Daz said to himself.

* * *

Ten years had passed since Daz gained his new resolve. The Bureau of Magical Development was relocated to Isvan in Fiore, and while he still kept his job at the Bureau, Daz now worked with the underworld under the alias "Brain" and had become Deputy Commander of Grimoire Heart. His alternate personality, "Zero," still existed, but only came out when he was angry and was impossible to work with, so he was working on a better way to seal him.

In that same year of X774, he learned of "Nirvana," a legendary magic that could reverse good and evil; this was surely what Daz was looking for to make his dream a reality. He made a request with Hades for the guild to seek it out, but Hades had no interest in "Nirvana." This caused strife between the two of them, so Daz left Grimoire Heart to form his own guild and go after the magic.

Following his former master's example, Daz decided to make his recruits children with high magical power that could be continually raised as opposed to adults, since they would be easier to control. His first attempt was with Ultear Milkovich, but her power got to a point where he knew he couldn't control her. Knowing that she would do something unfavorable, he took a leave of absence right before she destroyed the Bureau; as sort of a way to apologise for their fighting in the past, Daz told Hades of Ultear, who then proceeded to coerce her into joining Grimoire Heart. He then spent two years traveling the world in search of other prospective children and eventually learned of Wendy Marvell, the "Sky Priestess" of the Pergrande Kingdom. He tried to get her as well, but that was a travesty of its own. Two years past that, as well, Daz was informed by his former master of the events that transpired in the Tower of Heaven and said that some children there had the kind of magic he was looking for. He soon arrived at the Tower, now led by Jellal, and said that he would teach him magic if he could take the five children with the strongest magic for his guild. Jellal agreed, and Daz finally had his guild made of people betrayed by the "light" of this world, all united with the goal of exposing its "darkness." We now return to the present with Natsu and Wendy finally arriving to fight.

* * *

The two Dragon Slayers were ready to fight the man before them. But before they got started, Natsu noticed that "Zero's" skin was a little darker than it was before.

"...Hey..." Natsu said, "you're in there too, aren't you, 'Brain?'"

"Indeed," the man before them said. "In the past, 'Brain' and 'Zero' never worked together, but now, both of them, the embodiment of knowledge, and the embodiment of destruction, are united as one being: 'Daz Love'"

"Daz Love..." Wendy said.

"Now that we are working together, your hopes of victory have completely vanished! Here you shall fall, and the true 'light' shall be revived!"

"All I heard was you saying that we can't win," Natsu said. "Let me show you how wrong that is." A giant, bright, crimson glow spontaneously covered Natsu's body. When it faded, his body became covered in scales and his magic had skyrocketed, shocking Wendy and Daz.

"What?!"

"I've only used this in real battle twice before right now, and both times, I needed an outside boost. Now, though, after training in Mildea, I'm able to activate it whenever I want! The ultimate power of a Dragon Slayer: Dragon Force!"

"'Dragon Force?!'"

_Grandeeney told me about this, _Wendy thought to herself. _Dragon Force is the most powerful and final state a Dragon Slayer can attain, granting one power comparable to that of a real dragon, and the ability to destroy everything. I wonder... could "she" do it, as well?_

"Even so, I will not falter!" Daz shouted. "I, Daz Love, master of the Oración Seis, will not surrender my ambition to the likes of you!" Daz then fired a Dark Capriccio at Natsu, but he just swatted it away. Natsu then did a mad dash to get right in front of Daz and punch him in the stomach, sending him flying across the room.

"I'm here to fight, too!" Wendy shouted. "Arms X Armor X Vernier!" Wendy's body gained a light blue aura as she jumped off the nearest wall and got right above Daz. "Tenryū no Kagidzume!" The girl swung her leg down and blasted Daz with wind, though he maintained his ground.

"Dark Motif!" Daz shouted, making a mass of small, dark rods hit Natsu and Wendy, bringing the latter crashing to the ground.

"Wendy!" Natsu shouted.

"Dark Capriccio!" The familiar spiraling beam was fired at Natsu, but was sent off course by a blast of wind from the blue-haired Otaku. "Why, you!" He redirected the beam to have it go straight at Wendy, making her run. Natsu, taking advantage of this, charged at Daz, but he fired another Dark Capriccio and put Natsu in the same position as Wendy. As the two mages ran, they crossed paths at one point and caused the attack to get tangled and burst.

"Tenryū no Yokugeki!" Wendy cried, sending out blasts of wind from her arms that knocked Daz into the air.

"Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka!" Natsu shouted, jumping up and attempting to slash Daz with his flame blade. Daz, however, managed to leap back and avoid a full hit. This, however, didn't stop Wendy from jumping behind him.

"Tenryū no Saiga!" She struck the man in the back with wind from her hand.

"Dark Gravity!" Daz pointed both hands at Natsu and Wendy and sent them flying into the walls, allowing him to land on his feet uninterrupted.

"Karyū no..." Natsu started, his body becoming clad in fire.

"Tenryū no(Sky Dragon's)..." Wendy started, her body becoming clad in wind. Both Dragon Slayers then jumped off the wall with incredible force and headbutted Daz in the stomach and back.

"Kenkaku(Sword Horn)!" They shouted in unison.

"Dark... GRAVITY!" Daz shouted, making Natsu and Wendy get flown into the air. "Dark Capriccio!" He fired a beam at both of them, but they were both ready to counter. "Cut Time!" Each beam split in half, making Daz's opponent's counter's fail. "And Return!" The beams rejoined with Natsu and Wendy between them and inflicting major damage; at this point, Wendy's Arms X Armor X Vernier had worn off, so she no longer had a defense boost like Natsu did with Dragon Force. Daz then swung them around into the walls and ground before dispelling the beams. "Dark Ornament!" He fired a giant black ball that landed a direct hit on Natsu and Wendy, knocking them out of the air and onto the ground.

_For all their arrogance, they went down rather easily, _Daz thought to himself. _No matter; what's done is done. Now I just need to wait a few minutes until-_ Daz never finished that thought, though, because he saw that Natsu and Wendy had stood up from the ground.

"That sure hurt a lot..." Natsu said. "You okay, Wendy?"

"Yeah..." she answered. "My spell wore off, but I think I'm alright."

"Impossible!" Daz yelled. You... you can still stand?!"

"We can do more than that!" Natsu yelled as he fired a Crossfire Hurricane at Daz. The dark mage, however, somehow caught it and threw it aside, creating a large assortment of burns on his palms. _...Damn._

"Why... why do you insist on getting in my way? This world... this world has lost its true 'light;' what we see is merely 'darkness' disguised as 'light'. All I'm doing is trying to bring back the true 'light' of this world!"

"That's what you're saying," Wendy started, "but you know what it sounds like to me, Daz Love? All it sounds like is that _you _got a bum deal, and you're taking your anger out on everyone else!  
"'True light?' 'Darkness disguised as light?' The world isn't as simple as that! There's no such thing as a reality where nothing bad happens, and there's no such thing as a reality where only good things happen, but you can only be happy when you grow up and accept that!"

"...'Accept it...?' You want me to 'accept' this world...?" Dark phantoms started to gather around Daz's hands. "You want me to 'accept' this world where my innocent was killed?!"

"...If that kid could see how immature his father was acting... the only option for his face would be a look of sorrow."

"You... FUCKING BRAT!" Daz yelled as he fired a Dark Rondo at Wendy. "I'll kill you and destroy this messed up world, 'Sky Priestess!'"

"Daz Love... you're... the kind of evil that doesn't realize it's evil... and that's the worst kind there is!" Wendy then punched the air and created a giant fist of wind that destroyed the Dark Rondo and landed a direct hit on Daz.

_Was that... Tenryū no Hoken_(Sky Dragon's Breakdown Fist)_?! _Natsu thought to himself. _I never gave her instructions for that, and she only saw me use _my _version once. Did she learn how to do it from just that?!_

"You..." Daz said as green energy gathered around his fingers, "GET OUT OF MY WAY! GENESIS ZEROOOOOOOO!" Thousands of phantoms were then summoned and fired at Natsu and Wendy. "Nil travelers! Take their souls! Their memories! Devour their souls! Disappear! Under the name of Daz Love!"

"...Wendy..." Natsu said as flames appeared on his arms.

"...Natsu..." Wendy said as air began to circulate around her mouth.

"Let's end it... this sorrowful battle..."

"Yeah... time to put an end to it!"

"Metsu Ryū Ōgi!"

"Tenryū no Hōkō!" Wendy fired a giant blast of wind from her mouth.

"Guren Bakuenjin!" Natsu released a spiralling mass of fire from his arms. As the two attacks advanced forward to meet Daz's, a sort of magnetism came into play that fused the Dragon Slayer's attacks together into one huge, purple mass.

"_Unison Raid?!" _Daz thought. As soon as the Unison Raid made contact with Genesis Zero, it was destroyed and Daz was blasted by a combination of wind, fire, and explosions and knocked straight through the Lacrima at the same time the other five were destroyed by Lucy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, and Jura.

_My prayer..._ Daz thought as his body fell to the ground, _my true prayer... was for no one to have to suffer the way "Midnight" did... the way my son did... the way... I did..._

* * *

A few moments after Daz's defeat, "Nirvana" completely collapsed. Everyone made it out alright, but Natsu(now having deactivated Dragon Force), Wendy, and an unconscious Daz(now wearing a "Magic Defender") somehow ended up on the other side of the destruction.

"We should go meet up with them, Natsu," Wendy said as she started to walk in the direction of the group.

"Wait," Natsu said, throwing Daz's body in front of her. "No one knows the exact result of our battle yet, so they wouldn't find it weird if this guy was dead."

"..."

"Personally, I don't think that he needs to die, but you're the one who hates him, so I'm letting you decide." Wind began to circulate around Wendy's hand before she fired a blast of wind that landed a few centimeters away from Daz's head.

"...If I killed him like this... simply because I wanted him dead... I'd be no better than him." Wendy then kept walking. "To fall to his level... that's not something my parents would have wanted."

"That's the answer I was looking for."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	22. The Parents' Parting Gifts

**Fox: Here it is! The almost end of the Oración Seis arc!**

**Pie: This isn't the last chapter?**

**Fox: It was going to be, but as I was writing it, I felt so good about what was already here that it seemed like the other stuff would ruin it.**

**Pie: But if this **_**was**_ **the last chapter, then the total length of the arc would've been **_**six**_ **chapters!**

**Fox: Maybe next time.**

**Pie: There won't be a next time, though!**

**Fox: Moving along, before we get into the disclaimer, I'm gonna spoil the next chapter a bit... it's the chapter all of you Jerza shippers have been waiting for.**

**Pie: If you wanna put in a lemon, this story's gonna have to become "M."**

**Fox: I DIDN'T MEAN "THAT", YOU DIRTY PASTRY!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Since it was Halloween, Chairman Absoliutus Teisingumas was ending a night of trick-or-treating by watching the newest episode of _Hellsing Abridged _with a few of his clones.

"HAHHAHAHA!" The Chairman laughed. "These guys are _too _funny!"

"I know, right?!" One clone asked.

"I wanna take a walk with Alucard!" Another clone said. It was then that the Chairman's Mini Communications Lacrima started ringing. "Hey! We're trying to hear the Crimson Fucker!"

"Sorry, just pause it!" Absoliutus said as the clone did just that. He then held the small crystal in his hand as Lahar's face appeared on it. "What is it, Lahar-san?! I'm in the middle of watching videos on Magictube!"

"...Well..." Lahar started, "I just wanted to inform you that the Guild Alliance has successfully completed their mission of defeating the Oración Seis."

"Really?! Anybody die?!"

"Two members of Oración Seis perished, but, luckily, no one of the alliance did."

"WHAT?! That's lame! I wanted casualties on _both _sides, dammit!"

_It really is hard to deal with a man like this... _"By the way, I feel that I should mention that one of our apprentice Knights, Eve Tearm, suddenly quit to join Blue Pegasus."

"That's fine; that shota kid will be better in a guild like that than the army."

"_Shota?" _"Also, I should mention that Jellal Fernandes showed up, even though we weren't notified of him participating."

"? And?"

"Well... shouldn't we call for some investigation on that matter? Everyone said that they called him last minute, but that seems a little too convenient, especially since he's-"

"Lahar-san," Absoliutus interjected. "The end scenario is one where things are even a little balanced, so there's no need to worry about the details for how we got there."

"...Understood. Signing off." Lahar's face disappeared from the Lacrima.

_Jellal-kun... you probably weren't involved in the best of ways, but what you were doing eventually became the right thing, so I'll let you off. After all, who am _I _to accuse someone of being bad; I've done more "bad" than anyone in order to be able to do "good..."_ After he thought about that a little, he eventually went back to his video with his clones yelling something about bitches and cannons.

* * *

That night, since no one wanted to go all the way back to their own homes, the Guild Alliance spent the night at Cait Shelter. The next morning, the Fairy Tail mages awoke to find special clothes from the village to replace their beaten up ones; they graciously put them on, but that didn't stop them from finding them... weird. The six mages(Happy was somewhere else) were in a tent discussing their clothes, though Jellal, still dressed in his "Cifer" clothes, was just chuckling a little in the corner.

"Isn't this just weird, though?" Natsu asked. His outfit was a black shirt, a green and white sweater, black sweatpants with an orange vertical stripe going down each leg, and a necklace made up of a black string and a white rectangular object; also, his hair was combed to cover his left eye, as per some apparent "instructions."

"Yeah..." Lucy said, finding her outfit a tad embarrassing. Lucy was wearing a sailor uniform that consisted of a white blouse, a big, blue collar, a red ribbon, and a very short, blue skirt. She also had white shoes, black socks that almost reached her knees, a yellow headband with yellow ribbons attached to it, and an armband that had "Brigade Chief" written in Japanese that was wrapped around her left arm.

"Anyone notice that the people in this guild are dressed _completely _different from us?" Gray asked. His outfit was a light-colored blazer, red tie, blue pants, and brown shoes.

"These clothes _are _odd, but I feel an odd... oneness with them," Erza said. She was a red, sleeveless vest, blue shorts, and a straw hat.

"Juvia feels the same way!" Juvia said. Juvia was dressed in a sailor uniform similar to Lucy's, only her collar wasn't as big and she had a yellow tie as opposed to a red ribbon. Also, for some reason, she held a big hatchet in her hands with "Ryukishi07" written on it.

"Juvia..." Lucy started, "could you put down the hatchet, please?"

"...You don't like it?" She asked, pointing it at Lucy.

"N-No! I love it, but..."

"USO DA! ...Where did that come from?" Juvia then threw the hatchet aside, but before it touched the ground, Wendy came out of nowhere and caught it.

"Don't do that!" The Otaku yelled. "This is a limited-edition _Higurashi _hatchet signed by Ryukishi07 himself; it's worth more than all of you put together!"

_Now it makes sense... _The five thought in unison

"But I guess you can be forgiven because of how you're dressed."

"Something special about these clothes?" Natsu asked.

"'Something special?!' You're all _only _dressed as Ren Ichimoku, Haruhi Suzumiya, Tomoya Okazaki, Monkey D. Luffy, and Rena Ryugu! Normally, the cosplay wouldn't work given your appearances, but with those voices..." Wendy then put her right index finger to her temple and spun it as blood shot out of her nose, "it's WRYYYYYYYYlly the greatest 'high!'"

_I WRYYYYYYYYlly hope I'm not responsible for Wendy being like this, _Natsu thought with a sweat drop. _But still... it's nice to see Wendy acting normal(for this timeline) again. After that stuff with "Brain," no, Daz Love, I didn't know what would happen. Who would've guessed that the guy was responsible for her parents' deaths?_  
_Even if I say that, I only know the end of that story; Wendy wouldn't give any of us the details, and Carla said that _she _didn't even know about it. Come to think of it... I never really knew Wendy as much as I do now. She must've been carrying the same past in the first timeline, so how differently would I have seen her if there was a trigger for her to snap in that one, as well? _Before Natsu could answer his own question, though, Happy and Carla walked into the tent.

"Wendy, Fairy Tail people," Carla said, "everyone... is waiting..." it was here that Carla noticed the cosplay, "...outside..." Happy then exploded with laughter. "Wendy... where are the _real _clothes that were set out for them?"

"Hmm... I wonder..." Wendy said.

"Help!" Someone yelled. "There's a huge fire outside!"

"I wonder..." Wendy then gained a devilish grin.

_Dangerous! _The Fairy Tail mages thought. _This Otaku is dangerous!_

* * *

After Juvia put out the fire, everyone gathered outside to listen to Roubaul talk.

"You do realize you almost burned down the guild, right, Wendy?" Carla asked.

"Yeah..." Wendy said before donning big puppy-dog eyes, "but you'll forgive me because I'm cute, right?!" Carla then proceeded to chop Wendy in the center of her face.

"I'll forgive you because you're an idiot."

"Auau~~" Carla hit her again. "Hey!"

"You made another stupid reference."

"Leave her alone, please," Jellal said to Carla.

"Fine." Jellal then patted Wendy on the head as she gave him a big smile. After Daz was arrested, Natsu and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages told Wendy about Mystogan. Even though Jellal and Wendy now knew that yesterday was the first day they had met, an odd closeness had been formed between the two of them that no one, not even Carla, objected to.

"But really, Wendy, you shouldn't have burned the clothes to get them to dress up for you."

"It's fine, Jellal," Natsu said. "If it makes the girl happy, I think we can deal with it."

"?" was Wendy's response. It was then that Roubaul began to speak.

* * *

The timeline had reached the point where the illusionary guild of Cait Shelter began to vanish. Even though Natsu and his nameless team knew that this would happen, it didn't stop them from feeling sad at that moment. Wendy, however, seemed to be taking it better than all of them thought she would be.

"Master..." Wendy started, her head hanging down, "can I ask one question?"

"What is it nabura?" Roubaul asked.

"This guild... 'Cait' Shelter... was it... was it..." Wendy then threw her head up to reveal a face covered in tears, "was it named after my mother?!"

"...For seven years, you never once talked nabura about your parents..."

"?!"

"I wanted to show you this every day, but since you never nabura brought them up, it didn't seem like your nabura heart was ready. Now though... I should have enough nabura magic for at least that..." Suddenly, the entire scene before them changed to that of a torn-down house with Roubaul and a young, sleeping Wendy inside.

"Huh? What is this..."

_This _must _be an illusion, _Jellal thought, _but what is he trying to show us?_

"But seriously..." the illusion of Roubaul said, "what am I supposed to do with this girl? I promised nabura to take care of her, but how am I supposed to do that. I've lived centuries in solitude... so how can I take care of another person...?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," a female voice said from nowhere.

"Nabura?!" Then, right before illusion Roubaul's eyes, a black-haired man in a kimono and hakama and a blue-haired woman in a white shirt and jean shorts appeared. "Who are you two?!"

"My name is Atmos, Atmos Marvell," the man said. "This is my wife, Cait."

"'Marvell?'" Natsu said. "So they're..."

"My... parents...?" Wendy asked aloud.

"The way you just nabura appeared like that..." illusion Roubaul started, "are the two of you..."

"Yes," Atmos said, "we are indeed ghosts, but not the same as you."

"?"

"Atmos and I had already passed on a year ago and were watching our daughter from above in silence, but now that she's being cared for by someone who's not sure what to do, we just _had _to ask for permission to come down for a bit, did we not?" Cait asked. "You do want to take care of her, do you not?"

"Of course! Even if I've nabura lived alone, I can't just leave this girl alone! What do you nabura want me to do?"

"Well, we were going to give you a lot of instructions, but from that, you don't seem like you'll need a lot, do you not? With that being said, we only want you to do two things for us... to leave two parting gifts for her from us."

"'Two' nabura?"

"The first is this: that 'Jellal' boy told our daughter that he would take her to a guild, did he not?"

"I didn't hear of it, but I can create one with my magic."

"Good. And when you do... could you name it... 'Cait Shelter?'"

"'Cait Shelter?'"

"Yes. With a name like that, even if she feels alone, even if the world turns frightening for her... she can think of this guild's name and think, 'It's almost like mommy's watching over me,' can she not?" When this was said, all the people who weren't crying at that point started to tear up.

"And from me," Atmos said, "I just want you to tell her something, but don't say anything either of our parting gifts until she's ready to talk about us."

"What is it?" The illusionary Roubaul asked.

"From me... just tell her I said... 'We will always be in your heart, Wendy. No matter what, don't forget that your parents are looking out for you; as long as you remember... you won't be alone.'" Even if no one knew the full details of Wendy's past, they were now completely certain of one thing: her parents absolutely loved her. It was at the moment of this realization that Atmos and Cait faded away and the illusion ended with Roubaul vanishing as well; at this point, everyone was crying, and Wendy was on her knees as she wept.

"Mommy~~~!" She cried. "Daddy~~~! Come back! If you want to protect me... do it here~~~!" Everyone just stood there and let the girl wail. Then, when her crying had become sniffles, Jellal walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Even if your parents are no longer able to protect you in the world of the living," Jellal began, "your friends are here for that... I'm here for that..."

"..."

"Come on... let's go."

"...Where?"

"To the place where you can have friends who will look out for you. The place where you can move on from the past. The place... where you can always be happy, no matter _how_ much you think the world is out to get you: Fairy Tail."

TO BE CONCLUDED

* * *

**Fox: Even **_**I **_**started crying at this one!**

**Pie: It was rather touching!*Blows nose***

**Fox: Yeah, and if you cried even a little here, you're gonna be swimming in tears with the next chapter! 'Nother reminder about it: you Jerza fans are gonna love it!**

**Pie: Again, we don't have the right rating for a sex scene.**

**Fox: It's not a damn lemon!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	23. Promise! And then

**Fox: So... I just realized that there's a bit of egg on my face...**

**Pie: What do you mean?**

**Fox: I re-read the Edolas arc so I'd remember everything I'd need for that part of the story, and I apparently forgot that Lisanna "died" around then, meaning she "died" sometime in the fall.**

**Pie: So?**

**Fox: So... I kinda said that she died in the summertime in the first chapter, remember?**

**Pie: ...You're an idiot.**

**Fox: Not true! I just made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes! Everyone has those days! Everyone knows what, what I'm talking-**

**Pie: Stop that. Stop quoting that song.**

**Fox: ...NOBODY'S PERFECT!*Gets punched by Pie***

**Pie: You're gonna fix that right now, right?**

**Fox: Yeah...**

**Pie: Good. After that, you can get started on Erza and Jellal's sex scene.**

**Fox: THERE'S NO GODDAMN LEMON!**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The next day, the Fairy Tail mages were heading home by boat along with their newest members, Wendy and Carla. Though, not all of that guild's delegation was there, as Juvia decided to spend a few days at Lamia Scale to do some "business" with Lyon, if you know what I mean.  
On the boat, Natsu didn't have to deal with motion sickness as Troia was first cast on him much earlier in this timeline than the original, so it wore off early enough for it to be used for the boat; this was convenient for Wendy, since she apparently had a question for the older Dragon Slayer.

"It's a serious question, Natsu," Wendy said.

"I'm sure it is," he responded.

"Even though I say that, it might sound stupid, but you must respond seriously."

"Got it."

"I mean it. I'm asking this with 100% seriousness, so you have to _answer_ with 100% seriousness!"

"Just ask the question, already!"

"Okay..." Wendy then took a small breath, "are you from the future?" Jellal and Carla now started to pay attention, Natsu became riddled with sweat, and everyone else's jaws dropped.

"Wh-Wh-What?!"

"A bunch of things about you have seemed weird since we met. At the villa, you threw a pillow for me to land on, conveniently knew people who knew of 'Angel's' magic, and knew I was a sky Dragon Slayer. Not only that, when we were at 'Nirvana,' you said that you never knew I could 'cut loose like that' and asked if I knew attacks besides my roar. Finally, at Cait Shelter, you said that you could deal with the cosplay if it made me happy."

"...A-And...?"

"Well, it seemed odd that you knew all of those things that transpired at the villa. At 'Nirvana,' why would you be surprised that I would be that strong if we only met that day? That was my first time fighting, so you should've had no knowledge of my strength. Not only that, why would you assume that my only offensive spell was my roar? And it seemed _awfully _convenient that you said that line at the guild, considering what happened right after you said it."

_Now that I think about it... I was _really _careless around her!_

"At first, I thought that you could _see _the future, but then I remembered that only Saga Pendragon can do that thanks to his 'poi,' so that led me to the conclusion that you're actually _from _the future!"

"...Okay, Wendy," Carla started, "I think that's enough of your little jokes. Right, Natsu?"

"...Impressive..."

"See, even he- what?!"

"I didn't think anyone would actually figure it out... especially you, Wendy."

"Natsu..." Jellal started, "are you seriously saying..."

"Looks like it's time to spill the beans to three more people..."

* * *

And so, Natsu told Wendy, Carla, and Jellal everything. About Grimoire Heart's attack during the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial. About Zeref killing everyone. About his memories being transferred to his two-year-younger self in another timeline. They were all shocked, to say the least.

"So..." Jellal began, "if Zeref is alive..."

"I don't know what would've happened, but you definitely wouldn't have revived someone," Natsu said.

"This is..." Carla said.

"I know..." Wendy said.

"Now that you know, what will you all do?" Natsu asked.

"Hm!" Jellal said. "We're gonna have your back, too!"

"Why would even have to ask that?" Carla asked.

"Wendy?" Natsu asked the little girl.

"...Natsu... exactly how was I in the first timeline?" Wendy asked.

"Well, you weren't an Otaku, for starters."

"I mean in battle; how was I when it came to fighting?"

"...In all honesty... you were basically just support."

"I see..." Wendy said that with a melancholic tone.

_Natsu! _Lucy said in his mind.

_I'm not gonna lie to her about that, _Natsu thought. _The old me would've just been okay with her doing her best, but this Natsu knows that that wasn't good enough, especially now that he knows her best is a lot better. Besides, this'll probably make something I want happen._

"_Something you want?"_

"...Natsu," Wendy began, "even if we won't be helping you fight Zeref, there's bound to be a lot of fighting up until that day, and I don't want to just be this team's white mage! I've finally started to tap into my true power, and I want to use it to fight! So..."

"So..." Natsu began.

"So..." Wendy then bowed her head at Natsu, "please train me to be stronger!"

"...Heh heh! I was all fired up waiting for you to ask that! Once I'm done with you, Wendy, the eight of us will be the strongest team there is!"

"By the way, what's this team's name, anyway?"

"Well, _I _wanted to name it 'Team Natsu,' but _apparently_ that's 'conceited!'"

"Why should we name it after you?!" Gray yelled.

"Well then, how about we call it 'Time Jumpers?'" Wendy asked. "You know, because of the time travel stuff?"

"...Not bad," Natsu said. "Everyone," Natsu then put his hand out, "put your hands together!" The other seven people put their hands on Natsu's. "The bonds between the eight of us are so strong that they transcend time itself! Together, Zeref won't win in December; that is the undeniable truth created by us, 'Time Jumpers!'"

"OOOOOHHH!" Everyone yelled. With that, the eight-man team, now known as "Time Jumpers," continued their boat ride to Hargeon.

* * *

After the boat docked, the eight mages were heading to Fairy Tail when Jellal suddenly stopped walking.

"What's wrong, Jellal?" Erza asked.

"...There's something I decided to do," he said. "I need to go somewhere right now; can you come with me, Erza?"

"...Alright."

"I think I should-" Gray started before being dragged away by Lucy.

_Take a hint, you subzero stripper! _Lucy thought to herself as Erza and Jellal walked back to the boats.

* * *

A few hours later, the two of them had gotten off in the town of Aconite. From there, they walked to the outskirts and headed off onto a mountain trail until they reached an old house with a dusty tombstone a few meters to the right of it.

"Did you want to take me here, Jellal?" Erza asked. "For what reason?"

"...Erza..." Jellal began, "why haven't you gone to see your parents yet?" Erza was taken back by the question.

"...Doing that would only be bad in the end. As far as the world is concerned, the 'Erza' who lived in Rosemary Village is dead, and 'Erza Scarlet' merely shares her face and first name. If I went to visit them, or even just to their town to see how they are doing from afar, I risk someone of the underworld learning of our connection... and them getting hurt because of it. I couldn't forgive myself if something like that happened, so even if it means sacrificing my happiness, we can never meet each other again."

"I see... sacrificing happiness for your loved ones... I once knew someone like that..." Jellal, with Erza behind him, walked to the tombstone. When they were in front of it, Jellal wiped off some of the dust to reveal the name of the person who had died. "I had this built a few years ago... could you read it for me?"

"'Siegrain Fernandes. X765-X776.'" was what Erza read off of the tombstone. "Wait, what is this? Isn't Siegrain just your Thought Projection?"

"That was the name it used, but there really was a Siegrain Fernandes, older twin brother to Jellal Fernandes."

"?!"

"Our parents died of illness when we were young, but the two of us managed to survive because of Siegrain's skills. Money, magic, studies, survival... he had me beat at everything, and I hated him for it. Every time he did something with ease that I struggled with on end, it made me become filled with rage. I resented my older brother for the longest time... until..."

"'Until?'"

"Until the cultists came. They tried to capture us, but, as always, thanks to Siegrain, we managed to get away. However, there were more people than we thought, and they eventually got us. As they dragged us away, though, Siegrain fought back, yelling, 'Leave my brother alone, you bastards!' and even used some of his magic; that was a terrible mistake.  
"The reason that the cultists only captured the young and elderly was because they'd be less troublesome than young adults. However, when they saw him using magic, they knew that taking him would cause problems, so they... killed him on the spot... right in front of me..."

"..."

"I always thought that it was my fault... that if _I _was the one with talent, at least Siegrain could've lived. Maybe my constant belief that he was better than me was why I gave the Thought Projection that name... a subconscious knowledge that if he was alive, and knew what I was doing... he would do everything to stop me. Such a thing would be worthy... of the one who deserved to live."

"Jellal..." Erza took a step forward, but Jellal put his hand out to make her stop.

"Yes... God made a mistake that day. Siegrain should've lived while I should've died. If he had lived, then the sorrow that befell you and the others wouldn't have happened... because Siegrain was the good one between us. I, on the other hand, became destined for evil as a sin for hating my brother over such petty things like talent, and it is that horrible destiny that keeps making you, the person who always gets so heavily involved with me, suffer so much."

"That's not-"

"'That's not true?' ...You're right."

"STOP TALKING LIKE THAT, THIS- ...huh?"

"Everything I told you were my old thoughts that I had to get off my chest. Seriously, though... I was such an idiot. The word 'destiny' is just that; a word. If it does exist, then there's no reason for us to be bound by it! 'Destiny' made it seem like one of us would kill the other, but time and again, we avoid it! Therefore! I promise to no longer believe in 'destiny,' or anything else of the sort! I promise to live my life by carving my own path to light and _not _carving one made for me by anyone else! That is surely..." tears began to roll down Jellal's face, "the life Siegrain wanted me to have on that day!" A good distance away, the apparition of Siegrain was nodding his head as he cried, as well.

_You finally understand,_ the apparition thought to itself. _It took a long time, but you finally understand, little brother. Maybe now... I won't have to appear again..._ The spirit then vanished.

"Jellal...!" Erza, also crying, said. Jellal then walked up to Erza and gave her a deep, passionate kiss on the mouth. After that, he suddenly got down on one knee.

"Erza..." he started, "'destiny' clearly says that we shouldn't be together, but I won't accept that! If Natsu will go to extremes to fight against 'destiny,' then I will, as well!" And then, two weeks later...

* * *

At Fairy Tail, the last couple of weeks were more or less uneventful. Gildarts had returned after dropping the 100-Year Job, amazed that Natsu and Erza had become Wizard Saints, even jokingly saying that they might've surpassed him now. Natsu, despite being a serious person now, couldn't help but challenge the man after he said such things, but he was smashed into the ceiling in three seconds, an apparent "best" for Natsu. After that, nothing particularly exciting happened, and the guild was pretty lax. The reason for their laxness? They were all wondering where the hell Erza and Jellal were.

_If Jellal's doing something..._ Gray thought to himself. As he came up with random things that he would never actually do to Jellal, the door to the guild hall opened, and Erza and Jellal walked in.

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Jellal!" Wendy exclaimed, putting down that week's _Jump_.

"Hello, everyone," Erza said with a smile.

"Where have you two been?!" Natsu asked. "You were gone for two weeks!"

"Yeah!" Happy added. "You two on your honeymoon, or something?" This was followed by laughter from everyone listening except for Gray, who was working on how hard he should hurt Happy.

"Yes," Jellal said, silencing everyone.

"...What?" Gray asked.

"Jellal took me to his hometown in order to propose!" Erza said, showing off her diamond ring.

"...What...?"

"We eloped that same day, and have been on our honeymoon for the last two weeks!" Jellal said.

"...What?!" The whole guild then cheered, with the exception of Gray, who lost consciousness.

* * *

"So you went to Garage Island for your honeymoon?" Natsu asked some time later. "That must've been fun."

"Indeed it was," Erza said. "Except, of course, for this annoying green... flower?"

_You don't know what was annoying you?_ Lucy thought to herself. "But how come you didn't at least call?"

"We meant to," Jellal said, "but we kept finding ourselves... busy."

"Bow Chicka Wow Wow," Wendy whispered; Natsu and Gajeel, being the only two who could hear this, had a good laugh.

"Well, anyway, congratulations again!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah... congratulations..." Gray said, walking away. Most of the people ignored this, but Lucy stared at him with a worried look.

* * *

Later, Erza had finished moving out of Fairy Hills and into Jellal's apartment. An interesting note on that is that it's actually the apartment Lucy was originally going to live in before Natsu brought up the dormitory. Also, even though Erza doesn't "live" at Fairy Hills anymore, she still rents four rooms for her extra armor and weapons. Currently, it was nighttime, and Jellal was standing by the window, staring at the moon.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" Erza asked from the bedroom.

"Yeah," he responded. _Siegrain... Natsu... Erza... I promise you both... this happy life that you all made for me will _not _be wasted! Count on it! _He then went to the bedroom, both because of everything that's happened as of late, and because of the little "treat" he knew he would be getting.

* * *

Back at the guild, most had gone home for the night, but a few tens of people were still there. One of those people happened to be a disgruntled ice mage trying to drink away his troubles.

"Gray..." a female voice said, making him turn around.

"...What are you doing here so late, Lucy?"

"You seemed upset, so I stayed to keep an eye on you."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look it."

"Well I am, okay?!"

"..." Lucy then started to walk away, but stopped when Gray said, "It sucks..." "?"

"This situation... it really sucks!"

"Gray..."

"I really did love her, ya know? Even though she was super abrasive and intimidating, I couldn't help it. But, like an idiot, I just spent, no, _wasted_ eight years keeping it all inside. If I just had the guts to say it, then...  
"No. She loved Jellal. She always loved Jellal, and vice-versa. If she had married some jerk or creep or loser, I coulda kicked his ass and gotten her back... but Jellal's the best guy for her, so I can't do a single thing, dammit!" Gray then put his head down and started to cry, prompting Lucy to sit next to him and bring his head to her shoulder.

"It'll get better... I promise you, it'll get better..." Meanwhile, at Natsu's house...

* * *

_Wow..._ Natsu thought as he laid in his bed while Happy slept, _I didn't expect them to get _married! _Talk about your sweet surprise. _As he thought this, he heard someone knock on his door. _? _Natsu got up and opened the door to see the face of a Dragon Slayer he was seeing more and more of lately. "Fuyu?"

"Hi, Natsu-kun," Fuyu said.

"What are you doing here?"

"First, this genius would like to thank you for taking down my predecessor, Daz Love. That was... a really nice favor..." this was said with a blush.

"...It was nothing..." Natsu had a small blush, himself.

"Second, I'd like you to come with me."

"Where?" Before an answer was given, Natsu was already dragged out of his house.

* * *

After being kidnapped by Fuyu, Natsu found himself in a clearing not far from his house and saw that Gajeel and Wendy were there, as well.

"This better be good, 'Tenpsycho,'" Gajeel said.

"Yeah!" Wendy exclaimed. "If I miss tonight's episode of _JoJo, _I swear to God..."

"Sorry!" Fuyu said. "This genius has been totally swamped the last few weeks, and she just got some free time a few hours ago!"

"It's fine, just tell us what you want," Natsu said.

"I want you three... to help me with a Job!"

"'A Job?!'" Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy exclaimed in unison. As they all knew, Fuyu Navidades was a Wizard Saint, so if this was a job that even _she _couldn't do by herself, then it must be serious.

"What kind of Job is this, Fuyu-san?" Wendy asked.

"A Job... involving Dragons," Fuyu said.

"'Dragons?!'" They exclaimed in unison again.

"Are you saying... you know where a Dragon is?" Natsu asked.

"No, but this genius might be close," Fuyu said.

"?"

"As you know, this genius is in charge of the Bureau of Magical Development, so she's constantly doing research. It usually involves magic, but what I devote most of it to... is solving the mystery of the Dragons.  
"Why did they leave on July 7th., X777? Where did they go? Why did they bother... to raise children? These are all things this genius wants to... has to know!" None of them, especially Natsu, expected this girl to have such a serious devotion to something, especially to this, of all things.

"And this 'Job...' it can help in answering those questions?"

"Maybe. All I know is that in order to complete it, I need a total of six Dragon Slayers."

"'Six?'"

"Ain't there only 'four' of us?" Gajeel asked

"That's alright; this genius already knows two others." Fuyu answered

"Who?!" Wendy asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow. ...You do want to do this, right?" The Fairy Tail mages all nodded their heads in unison, bringing a smile to Fuyu's face.

* * *

At the same time, a young blonde with a scar above his right eye sat outside, looking at the night sky, when a red cat walked up to him.

"Shouldn't you go to bed, Sting-kun?" The cat asked.

"Sorry, Lector," Sting responded. "I'm just so excited for tomorrow. Finally... I finally get to fight Natsu-san!"

* * *

**Fox: Let's talk about that chapter's beginning, middle, and end. First, the beginning: I enjoyed having more people learn the truth about Natsu.**

**Pie: I look forward to seeing a super strong Wendy.**

**Fox: COOL! Next, the middle: I had tears when I was writing the stuff Jellal was saying, honest to flying spaghetti monster!**

**Pie: Don't you think you moved their relationship along a little too fast?**

**Fox: They love each other, they have for a long, time, so I just wanted to get it over with.**

**Pie: I also thought that scene with Gray and Lucy was nice.**

**Fox: Me too. Gray won't get over it immediately, but he will someday, and Lucy's gonna help him do that.**

**Pie: Are they gonna...**

**Fox: Not telling. Finally, the ending: I wonder what kinda Job Fuyu has in store for them? Also, I'm bringing in Sting and Rogue; how about that?!**

**Pie: Please don't make Sting and Lucy fall in love.**

**Fox: I swear to God, Haruhi, and Madokami that that stupid crack pairing will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER exist in this fanfic!**

**Pie: Good. Maybe if we avoid it, others will follow suit.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	24. Dragon Note

**Fox: Something I forgot to mention in the last chapter is that Erza kept her last name after marrying Jellal.**

**Pie: Why?**

**Fox: He already gave her a last name.**

**Pie: That's pretty sweet.**

**Fox: Can a pie judge things to be sweet?**

**Pie: If he wants to. Anyway, let's just start the chapter.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The next day, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy, along with Happy and Carla, who decided to come with them, were in a car with Fuyu that was headed towards the town of Mesquite to complete Fuyu's mysterious Job.

"Hey, Fuyu," Natsu started. "You said that you knew two of the other four Dragon Slayers in the government, right? Why didn't you ask them to help you?"

"Well..." Fuyu began, "just like I said you wouldn't really like them, this genius doesn't like them that much, either. I figured that this would be easier to do with Dragon Slayers I'm friends with!"

"You're friends with _Gajeel?!_"

"Hey!" Gajeel interjected. "Just because we bonded over not having cats doesn't make us pals!"

"You sound kinda like a tsundere, Gajeel-san," Wendy said.

"Shut up, Otaku!"

"Also, how did _we _become friends, Fuyu-san? Haven't we only known each other for a day or so?"

"Maybe," Fuyu said, "but I'm friends with Natsu-kun, and Natsu-kun is friends with Wendy-chan; thus, by the transitive property of friendship, Wendy-chan and this genius are friends!"

"That theory! It reminds me of Komari-chan's spiral of happiness so much that I just can'tgo against it!"

"If a visual novel is your reasoning..." Carla said with a sweat drop.

"Also!" Fuyu exclaimed. "None of the other Dragon Slayers I know can use Troia, so Wendy-chan being here allows this genius to have a pleasant ride!"

"She's just medicine?!" Happy exclaimed.

* * *

After that little exchange, their car had stopped in Mesquite. Afterwards, the six of them walked a little outside of town to come across a house.

"This is where the other two Dragon Slayers live," Fuyu said. "Knock on the door, Natsu-kun."

"Why me?" He asked.

"I promised one of them that you would do it. Also, you have to do seven knocks in a row." Not having an argument, Natsu walked to the house and knocked on the door seven times. No one answered, so Natsu grabbed the doorknob and turned it to see if it was unlocked, which it apparently was. He opened the door to have a look inside, but as soon as he did, a blast of light came flying at his face. Though it caught Natsu off guard, he managed to roll to the ground and dodge.

"Sting-kun!" Fuyu yelled. "I told you a sneak attack wouldn't work!"

"_Sting?!" _Natsu thought to himself. _Is he one of the Dragon Slayers?!_

"Yeah, but I just had to try it, Fuyu-san!" A voice from inside the house said.

_...That voice sounded... young..._ A figure then emerged from the house. It was a blonde-haired kid with a scar over his right eye who wore a metal earring on his left ear, a white vest, white shorts, a long-sleeved black shirt, and black, pointed shoes. _One of the Dragon Slayers... is a kid?!_

"And now..." the kid said, as his fist started to glow, "it's time for I, Sting Eucliffe, to finally-" Sting was interrupted right there from Natsu getting up and giving him a hard kick towards the others, who he landed a foot or two away from. "...Ow..." Wendy then ran over to Sting.

"Are you alright?!" She asked.

"Yeah... just some internal bleeding, is all..." Wendy then put her hands near Sting and started to heal him. "What are you-"

"Don't talk; silence will make the healing easier."

_This girl... what kindness... _Sting thought with a smile.

"I'm gonna guess that Whitey here's one of the Dragon Slayers," Gajeel said.

"'Whitey?!'"

"So where's the..." Gajeel then stopped and delivered a punch behind him that knocked someone apparently emerging from his shadow to the ground. It was a kid who looked Sting's age and height. He had short, black hair that almost reached his shoulders and one visible red left eye, as the other was covered by his hair. On his upper body was gray, sleeveless armor that had a sort of metal skirt(by looking at his torso, you could see that there was a blue turtleneck underneath), two silver pauldrons, black gloves, a brown guard over his abdomen that was being worn over the armor, and two belts over the aforementioned guard. On his lower body were blue pants, brown, knee-high sandals with black socks, and a katana that hung on his left hip.

"...Ow..." the kid said.

"Raios?!" Wendy then ran away from Sting and went to heal Raios. As she did, he had a smile on his face that pissed Sting off for some reason.

"...This got out of hand..." Fuyu said with a sweat drop.

"Has it really?" Carla asked sarcastically.

* * *

Later, everyone had gone into the house and sat at a table for proper introductions. When they did enter, they met the Exceeds Lector and Frosch who, after calling Happy silly, ended up chatting with him and Carla about such and such.

"Allow this genius to properly introduce these two," Fuyu said. "These kids are Sting Eucliffe-kun and Rogue Cheney-kun, the white and shadow Dragon Slayers, respectively."

"Nice to meet you all," Sting and Rogue(Raios) said in unison.

_The hell does "white" mean? _Natsu thought to himself. _What does this Sting kid eat?_

"Rogue-kun... is that your regular clothing?" Wendy asked.

"...Yes, why?" Rogue asked.

"No, reason..." blood trickled down her nose, "No reason..."

"What a weird girl," Lector said.

"Fro thinks so, too," Frosch added. Sting and Rogue then glared at their cats for what they said, making them go silent.

"By the way, Gajeel-kun," Fuyu said to the iron Dragon Slayer, "why did you call Rogue-kun 'Raios' back there?"

"That's my little brother's name, ain't it?" Gajeel asked.

"I've never heard... 'BROTHER?!'"

"'BROTHER?!'" Everyone besides Rogue exclaimed.

"...We stuck around each other for about a year after the Dragons disappeared, but that was it," Rogue said. He then looked straight at Gajeel. "I believe _you_ made that very clear, Gajeel."

"..." was Gajeel's response.

"Speaking of Dragons," Natsu started, "the Job?"

"Right!" Fuyu exclaimed. She then held out a hand and Requipped a small, brown box with the word "DRAGON" written in English on the lid and placed in on the table.

"?"

"This genius found this box about three years ago. It wouldn't open conventionally, so magic was the only answer. Because "DRAGON" was written on it, the need for Dragon Slayer magic was obvious, but nothing happened whenever I tried. I had Sting-kun and Rogue-kun try, too, but nothing happened. Then, this genius thought that if _one _Dragon Slayer wouldn't work, then multiple ones would do the trick!"

"But it evidently did nothing, right?"

"...Yeah... But! When all three of us tried, the lid opened up halfway! That must mean six will be able to get it fully open!" Fuyu then put her hand out over the box.

"Worth a shot," Natsu also stuck his hand out.

"With Natsu-san here, it'll definitely work!" Sting said, putting his hand out.

"Well, let's get this over with, Raios," Gajeel said, putting his hand out.

"...My name is 'Rogue,' now," Rogue said, putting his hand out.

"Yeah! Full speed ahead!" Wendy said, putting her hand out. The six mages then focused the magic in their bodies into their hands and sent it out towards the box. When all six waves of magic made contact with it, the lid flew open to reveal a white, rectangular crystal with three square buttons next to each other on one sid.

"What's _this _supposed to be?" Sting asked.

"It looks like a Recorder Lacrima... but a very old model..." Fuyu said as she picked up the crystal. She then flipped it to the other side and saw that something was written on it. "'Dragon Note of the Civil War #7,' it says. What 'Civil War?' The last civil war was in the Enka Chain 35 years ago, but this looks like it's at least 100 years old!"

"Weird shit there..." Gajeel said.

_Wendy, _Natsu said to the girl telepathically(also, during the two weeks Erza and Jellal were on honeymoon, Natsu taught Wendy and Carla Telepathy).

_What is it, Natsu? _Wendy asked in her mind.

_I never mentioned this before because it didn't seem relevant, but before this timeline was created, Zeref mentioned a "civil war."_

_?! Then..._

_Yeah... this might connect to Zeref... and in turn, me. _During these last two years, Natsu has made his main focus defeating Zeref in December, but in all honesty, he didn't want to just defeat him... he wanted to understand him. The guy was supposed to be the most evil and dangerous person ever born since Lucia Raregroove, but all Natsu saw was... a really sad guy. If he's what everyone says he is, then why would he be acting so sad? Natsu wanted, no, needed to know, and this might tell him!

"Well, the only thing left to do is press play, right?!" Fuyu asked as she pressed play.

"'November twenty-sixth, X393,'" it said. "'Things have taken a turn for the worse. The ***** Army(A/N: The asterisks are fuzzed out words) started killing Dragons, turning this war into a Mêlée à Trois. The ***** Army wants to become all powerful, the ***** lovers want coexistence, and the 'Original Thinkers' want *****. If it's like this, though, we could all end up dead... dammit! Where did ***** go all of a sudden?! If he was here, this wouldn't be happening! Why... why do we have to fight like this... all because of one guy?!" It went silent after that, and everyone followed suit.

* * *

A half hour later, Fuyu broke the silence by asking, "Was there... a Dragon Civil War?"

"It looks like it," Rogue said. "And since it dates back to at least X393, it can't be related to our parents'... disappearances..." Sting and Rogue were looking at the floor when that was said, confusing everyone except Gajeel and Fuyu, apparently.

"But... it couldn't have been just Dragons," Wendy said. "The voice said that the 'Mêlée à Trois' involved some sort of 'Army' some sort of 'lovers,' and a group called 'Original Thinkers.' But what's really weird is the voice saying that the 'Army' was killing Dragons, but that would mean..."

"That 'Army' was made of Dragon Slayers," Gajeel said. "But why would there be an army of Dragon Slayers? Even further so, it sounds like they were working with either the 'lovers' or the 'Original Thinkers.' ...Why would they go rogue like that? And who was this guy who disappeared all of a sudden? Not only that, who's the guy who caused that war in the first place?"

_Was it Zeref? _Natsu thought to himself. _Or maybe... an enemy who's face we don't know?_

"Regardless," Fuyu said, putting the Recorder Lacrima in her pocket, "there's only so much we can come up with with just this one Lacrima. It's apparently #7 in an unknown number of Recorder Lacrima, so that means more are out there! This genius will do whatever it takes to find them and solve the mystery that is the Dragons!"

"I'm sure you will, Fuyu-san," Sting said. "And now that that's done, it's time for the main event of the day!" He then swiftly pointed at Natsu. "Natsu-san! Fight me!"

"?! What?" Natsu asked.

"Ever since you were given the title 'Salamander,' it's been my dream to fight and defeat you! I never knew how to get into contact with you, but then Fuyu-san said that she knew you, so I finally had a chance! I'm gonna beat you right here and now, and it'll be just as good as beating a real dragon!"

"Yeah!" Lector cheered.

_I don't wanna fight this kid! _Natsu thought to himself. _I'm still taking in all of this stuff, so I'll only be able to kick his ass at 80%! ...Though... this _does _present a good opportunity!_ "Alright Sting, I'll fight you."

"Awesome!"

"But on one condition, though." Natsu then put a hand on top of Wendy's head. "You have to beat the apprentice of Gajeel and I, Wendy Marvell!"

"What?!" Wendy exclaimed.

"You're kidding me!" Sting exclaimed. "Natsu-san and Gajeel-san are training a little girl?!"

"We're the same age, Sting-kun! And I'm taller than you by three centimeters!"

"And when did _I _become her sensei, 'Salamander?!'" Gajeel yelled.

"You've come to a few of our lessons," Natsu said. "Plus, you taught her that version of Rock-paper-scissors with Leonard Nimoy, remember?"

"I did indeed do that..."

"Hold it," Rogue said. "If Wendy is also Gajeel's apprentice, I would also like to fight her and receive a duel with Gajeel if I win."

"Huh?!" Wendy exclaimed.

"You _really _wanna do that, Raios?" Gajeel asked, cracking his knuckles.

"I do," Rogue answered. _And when I do, I will make you feel what created our relationship; I will make you feel "fear!"_

"Alright, then. I want this done fast, so she'll take you both on at once." Natsu said.

"What?!" Wendy exclaimed again. "Natsu! I can't fight these guys, especially both at the same time! I can tell that they're probably stronger than me, so I'll lose for sure!"

_This Wendy sure _seems _confident, but when it comes to fighting strong people, she's just as timid as the Wendy of the first timeline. _"This'll be a good way for me to see how far you've come. You said you wanted to use your power to fight rather than support, right? Well... now we see if you've gone onto the path of a warrior yet!"

"But still..."

"I'll buy you that _Puella Magi _doujinshi if you do this and _try _to win."

_Does he mean the one where Madoka and Homura... _Blood ran down Wendy's face as she shot out of her seat. "I'm gonna worf you two harder than Iihiko worfed Anshin'in-san!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Weird.**

**Pie: What's "weird," Fox?**

**Fox: The chapter's over, but despite it being called "Dragon Note," there wasn't a single **_**Death Note **_**reference.**

**Pie: Weird. When can we expect the next chapter?**

**Fox: Soon, my friend. Everything's going according to keikaku.**

**Pie: Nice. To those reading, you better take this chapter... and LIKE IT!**

* * *

**Leave your reviews after you finish reading. Also, if you're name's being left along with it... you have 40 seconds.**


	25. Wendy vs the Twin Dragons

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time on _FTR, _after hearing the contents of the Dragon Note, Sting challenged Natsu to a fight. Rather than just humor him by agreeing to it, Natsu said that he would fight him if Sting could beat Wendy, thus prompting Rogue to join in on the grounds that he could Gajeel if he won. Wendy was initially against it, but after being promised some hardcore yuri doujinshi, the fight was on!

A half hour after that, the three Dragon Slayers were outside to fight. Sting and Rogue were wearing what they were before, but Wendy had decided to use the small break to put on a new outfit(cosplay). She was now wearing a short-sleeved, blue shirt with an arched opening around the stomach that bore a symbol in its center that seemed to be made up of the letters "K," "I," and "N," red wristbands, and a red skirt.

"Good luck, Wendy-chan!" Fuyu yelled.

"Luck? I won't need the push of my farts!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I don't know what she just said, but what confidence!" Carla facepalmed, apparently knowing what all of that was about.

_I'll try to end this in one shot... _Sting thought to himself. "Hakuryū no Hōkō!" He then fired a thin, white blast from his mouth that Wendy barely managed to dodge.

"A laser?!" She exclaimed. "No... that was... A BEAM!" Her eyes were sparkling when she said this.

"This is not the time to be admiring it!" Carla yelled as Sting seemed to be making it come back. Wendy swerved to the left, but it still came at her, prompting her to run near a tree and dodge so the attack hit the tree and ended. As the tree broke apart, Rogue suddenly appeared out of the shadow of a falling branch.

"Eiryū no Zangeki!" Rogue shouted, delivering a shadow-covered punch.

"Tenryūken(Sky Dragon's Sword)!" Wendy shouted as a sword-shaped mass of wind formed around her right arm, evidently dense enough to block Rogue's attack. "Mind if I blow you away?" She then made a slash with the blade that knocked Rogue away.

"Ain't that...?!" Gajeel yelled.

"The girl really _is_ a copycat," Natsu said. Before Rogue could get himself back together, Wendy rushed him with a lariat to the neck and dragged his body through the air.

"Rogue!" Sting shouted. As he did, though, Wendy was right in front of him and delivered a lariat to his neck, as well.

"Tenryū no Yokugeki!" Wendy shouted as her arms became covered in wind that blasted her opponents away.

"Wow..." Carla said. "Has Wendy always..."

_I knew I was doing _something, Natsu thought, _but for her to grow this much in just two weeks..._

"Heh... not half bad, are ya, Wendy-chan...?" Sting asked, wiping some blood from his mouth.

"When my doujins are on the line, nothing is impossible!" Wendy shouted.

_She's definitely... unique..._ Rogue thought to himself. "She seems to be very skilled technique wise, Sting; we need to coordinate better to not get overwhelmed."

"GOTCHA!" Sting said in gratuitous English, crouching as light gathered in his hands. "The brilliance of the white Dragon purifies all things. Holy Ray!" Dozens of beams of light were fired from Sting's hands at Wendy.

"O swift wind that dashes through the heavens!... VERNIER!" Wendy shouted as her body was surrounded in a light blue aura and her speed increased, thus allowing her to avoid Sting's attack. "If it's like this, I don't have to-" Wendy suddenly stopped talking when she noticed a black substance wrapping around her that turned itself into Rogue, who attacked her with shadows.

"Eiryū no Renjakusen!" Rogue shouted as Wendy was blown away.

_Of course! Rogue-kun's magic lets him move inside of shadows, so with all of the shadows created from that last attack, he has a ton of places to attack from!_ As Wendy thought this, Sting used his Holy Ray again. As before, Wendy was able to dodge the beams, but Rogue came up from a shadow and attacked her. _At this rate, I'm gonna lose! What can I... ! _As Wendy apparently came up with an idea, Sting used Holy Ray for a third time, but this time, Wendy used her speed enhancement to jump high in the air and avoid the attack.

"That won't work. I can simply use _your _shadow as a medium." Rogue then jumped out of Wendy's shadow right below her to attack, but suddenly stopped.

"Tenryū no Kagidzume!" Wendy released wind from her foot and blasted Rogue to the ground.

"What the hell, Rogue?!" Sting yelled. "Why'd you stop like that?!" Wendy then landed on her feet with an annoyed look.

"Rogue-kun... you saw them, didn't you...?"

"? What's she talking about?"

"...I don't-" Rogue started before Wendy yelled, "Don't play dumb!"

"Rogue-kun! You... you... you saw my panties, didn't you?!" Everyone had giant looks of shock with Gajeel also looking amused and Carla and Sting looking angry.

"Why, youuuuuuu!" Carla said as Happy held her back.

"Nice one, Raios! Geeheegeehee!" Gajeel laughed.

"No!" Rogue yelled, his face filled with blush. "I-" But before he could finish, Sting ran up and punched him across the face.

"Rogue, you bastard!" Sting yelled. "The mystery of a woman's panties are her most treasured honor; how dare you destroy that for Wendy-chan(before me)!" He then grabbed the shadow Dragon Slayer by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "So what panties did your filthy eyes see, anyway?! Bear print?! Heart print?! Something with cartoons or anime characters?!"

"Sting-kun..." Lector started with a sweat drop, "it's sounds less like you're angry... and more like you want to know what panties she's wearing."

"Fro thinks so, too," Frosch said with an identical sweat drop.

"Or... could it be..." Sting said as blood started coming out of his nose, "you bastard! She wasn't wearing any at all, was sheeeeeee?!" It was then that Wendy used her Breakdown Fist to blast both of them.

"OHHOHOHOHO!" Wendy laughed. "You two fell for my 'Panty Shot Fake Out' strategy hook, line, and sinker!"

"She used her pre-pubescent feminine wiles to distract them!" Natsu exclaimed. "Nice move, my disciple."

"I'm just glad no one actually saw her panties," Carla said, exhaling deeply.

"Oh, no, Rogue-kun saw them," Wendy said in a deadpan manner.

"What?!"

"Well, if I didn't make sure he did, it wouldn't have worked as well."

"WENDYYYY! Don't you have _any _shame?!"

"Carla, Carla, Carla. ...Do you not realize the kind of world we live in?!"

"?!"

"In our society, the amount of women with incredibly sexy bodies keeps increasing and increasing by the month; at this rate, those of us not as well endowed will be completely forgotten in the hearts of man. But! There is still one thing people like me, 'lolis,' can do to compete! And that is... provide _adorable _fanservice!  
"Swimsuits! Maid outfits! Catgirls! Panty shots! When these are applied to a 'loli' like me, an unexplainable charm of cuteness is born that has the potential to surpass the charm formed from sexy women! The problem, though, is that most of us don't realize this truth. However! If just one of us takes this in, then 'lolis' can still survive! And if I can be that one who saves our proud race... then I'd flash my panties a million times!"

"...WHAT THE HELL?!" was what everyone's faces was saying. Since Sting and Rogue were also distracted by their dumbfoundedness, Wendy blasted them both with her roar.

"Oh, that was just another ploy," Carla said with a look of relief.

"No, that all came from the heart," Wendy said, causing Carla to beat her head against a tree.

"Okay..." Sting started, "time to seriously end this, you little Otaku!" Sting's body became covered in light at the same time that Rogue's became covered in shadows. "White Drive!"

"Shadow Drive!" Rogue yelled.

_What?! _Wendy thought to herself. _Other Dragon Slayer magic besides my own can use support magic?! In that case..._ "Arms X Armor X Vernier!" Wendy's body gained a light blue aura as her opponents charged at her. Sting and Rogue did a jab and low kick, respectively, and even though Wendy blocked both, the attacks still dealt a large amount of damage. Realizing that being ganged up on was putting her in a losing situation, the sky Dragon Slayer dashed away only for them to catch up in a few seconds.

"Looks like we're faster. Eiryū no-"

"Tenryū no Saiga!" Wendy knocked Rogue away with wind, but it didn't seem like it did a lot to him. _Strength... speed... defense... we've all enhanced the same things, but their enhancements are so much better! How?! Support spells are my specialty; even if they _can _use support magic, it shouldn't surpass mine! _As Wendy thought this, Sting fired a blast of light at her stomach that left some sort of symbol.

"The white Dragon's claw attack is a holy attack," Sting said. "A body marked by its stigmata has its freedom taken away."

_Crap!_

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be tough at all, Wendy-chan. Therefore..." Sting pulled his right fist back as a large amount of light formed around it, "I'll end this with the best of my best.  
"The white Dragon's fist will turn even flames to ash. Metsu Ryū Ōgi. Holy Nova!" Sting then punched Wendy with his fist clad in light, which also generated a massive explosion.

"Wendy!" Carla and Fuyu shouted, the latter adding "-chan."

_I guess that's all I could expect from just two weeks..._ Natsu thought to himself. When the dust from the explosion cleared, to everyone's surprise, they saw Wendy standing up, albeit she was covered in blood and clearly not fine. "What?!"

"What?!" Gajeel and the other spectators shouted.

"What?!" Sting and Rogue shouted.

"...Before your attack... hit me..." Wendy started, "I used 'Raise' to... cancel out the paralysis from that last attack... but I was only able to do it in time to jump back a little..." Wendy then fell on her back. "It's my loss..." Natsu then initiated a slow clap that was soon joined by the other spectators.

"She definitely has spunk," Rogue said as he and Sting lifted their opponent up off the ground. As they did, the two boys found that their injuries were vanishing.

"It wouldn't be right if you two fought at a disadvantage... right?" Wendy asked with a smile.

_This girl... even though we were fighting just a moment ago, she feels the need to look out for us...!_

_What a great woman! _Sting thought to himself. _With this angel's blessing, Rogue and I will definitely win!_

* * *

One minute and thirty-eight seconds later, Sting and Rogue were both defeated by the older Dragon Slayers.

"Well, that was fun," Natsu said. "Who wants lunch?"

* * *

The ten of them then went inside to have a lunch of various meats and sandwiches. Though they didn't plan on it, they ended up dividing themselves in three groups: one made up of Natsu, Gajeel, and Fuyu, one made up of Happy, Carla, Lector, and Frosch, and one made up of Wendy, Sting, and Rogue.

"But still..." Wendy began, "I can't believe that the two of you could use support magic that surpasses _mine._ How do you even _have _stuff like that, anyway?"

"Maybe it's because we're Third Generation Dragon Slayers," Sting said as he bit into a big chunk of meat.

"'Third Generation?'"

"Dragon Slayers who were taught their magic, like you, Natsu, and Gajeel, are 'First Generation,'" Rogue said, "and Dragon Slayers who get it from Lacrima, like Laxus Dreyar, are 'Second Generation.' However, Sting and I were raised by Dragons _and _had Lacrima implanted into our bodies, thus making us 'Third Generation.'  
"But still, Wendy, if you've really started training with Natsu and Gajeel, you should have been able to take out at least one of us."

"Well, my magic at the moment isn't very good."

"I have heard that the sky Dragon isn't an offensive one."

"There's that... but I also never learned a lot from Grandeeney."

"Didn't you grow up with her, though?" Sting asked.

"Well... I only spent a year with her, so..."

"A year?! But that's not enough time to even learn the basics! How are you a Dragon Slayer?!"

"...My mom..."

"Huh?! But you just-"

"Grandeeney is more like a grandmother... she took care of me after my parents died, and taught me a few things... but I got my magic from my mother."

"?! Th-Then..."

"That's right!" Fuyu exclaimed, popping into their group out of nowhere. "Wendy-chan's mother, Cait Marvell, was a 'First Generation' sky Dragon Slayer, and it is because of her genes that Wendy-chan can be called a 'Dragon Slayer!'"

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"H-How did you know that, Fuyu-san?!" Wendy asked.

"Hehheh!" She laughed. "This genius knows everything there is to know about Dragons and Dragon Slayers, so you being a 'Fourth Generation Dragon Slayer' would _never _slip my mind!"

"'Fourth Generation?'"

"Can't put you into any other category, right?!"

"I guess not. Oh! Sting-kun, Rogue-kun, do you two wanna come back to Magnolia with us and hang out?"

"Yeah!" They said in unison.

"Yay!" Wendy then hopped out of her seat and headed to the car.

"Isn't she great~?" Sting said.

"Yeah~," Rogue said. The two Third Gens then gave each other angry glares and headed out in a huff, the Exceeds following suit. The elder Dragon Slayers followed, as well, but after Gajeel exited, Natsu motioned to Fuyu to have her stop.

"Fuyu..." Natsu started.

"What is it, Natsu-kun?" The self-proclaimed genius asked.

"You said that you know all about Dragons and Dragon Slayers... so does that mean you know about Wendy's past?"

"...Yeah. Do you want this genius to tell you?"

"No, I was just curious; she'll give the full details when she's ready. However... I'd like it if I could get some kind of hint. Does one of those exist?"

"Yeah... the hint is... 'The Marvell Family Disaster.'" There was silence for a brief moment, and then the two of them left, not wanting to feel the heavy air any longer.

* * *

**Fox: So it looks like a sort of love triangle has formed amongst Sting, Rogue, and Wendy. Whether you like it or not, it's happening.**

**Pie: Why are you acting like people will have a problem with it?**

**Fox: I don't know...**  
**In other news, congratulations, us! It's the one month anniversary of **_**Fairy Tail Redux: Salamander's Time Traveling Escapades!**_ **I'd like to thank you all for making this the best **_**Fairy Tail **_**time travel fic there is!**

**Pie: What about **_**Time is the Path to Strength? **_

**Fox: ...Never heard of it.**

**Pie: Yes you-**

**Fox: Anyway! To honor this event, I present you with a canonical omake that will answer a very important question you've all had; I call it, "The Otaku Origins of Wendy Marvell**."

**Wendy: That style of wording... that's a **_**Haruhi **_**reference, isn't it?!**

**Pie: ...Let's just start it...****(Also, we bear no ill will towards the aforementioned story)**

* * *

After leaving Sting and Rogue's place, the group of ten were heading to Magnolia to hang out. On the way, though, they made a stop so Natsu could buy the yuri doujinshi Wendy wanted.

"Wendy... how _did _you become an Otaku, anyway?" Natsu asked as she read the book in the car with a nosebleed.

"Well..." Wendy started, "it all began two years ago."

_I knew this would relate to me..._

"I was doing a Job in the town of Acer when I walked by this store called 'Animate.' This spiky-haired guy that everyone called 'Tenchō' suddenly jumpedout of the building and told me to buy a DVD for something called 'Lucky Star.' I told him that I had never heard of that, so he caught on fire and told me to start reading from the first volume. I was really confused, so I just started reading."

"And?"

"And... it was amazing! I felt incredibly _stupid _for missing out on such a glorious world for so long, so I bought all of the volumes and everything else Tenchō recommended that I could afford! After that, I used whatever money I got from jobs for all sorts of stuff until I had fully embraced the Otaku lifestyle! And! I! Love! It!"

"Yeah... as long as your... wait, that can't be right..."

"? what do you mean, Natsu?"

"The 'Animate in Acer' shouldn't exist because I destroyed it two-! So that's it..."

"?"

_Two years ago in the first timeline, I had a Job over there and ended up destroying that store,_ Natsu said to Wendy telepathically. _But in _this _timeline, I never went there two years ago, meaning-_

You're _the reason Wendy's an Otaku?! _Carla asked with her Telepathy.

_...Uhhhhhh..._ Then, for reasons only Wendy and Natsu understood, Carla began ferociously clawing at him.

THE END

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	26. Dragon Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1)

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After returning to Magnolia, Natsu and his Fairy Tail pals spent the entirety of the day hanging out with Fuyu and their new friends Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch. The four of them were quickly welcomed as friends, though Lucy found it odd that Sting and Rogue told her that neither of them were attracted to Lucy romantically at all as soon as they saw her. Besides that, though, they all had fun; so much so that the extra Dragon Slayers and Exceeds spent the night at a hotel to do the same thing tomorrow. The next day, a rainy day, Wendy was with her new friends who, except for Rogue, were laughing hysterically at something Gajeel was saying.

"His hair was _how _long?!" Sting asked.

"Went down all the way to his waist and was _super _spiky!" Gajeel said. "And he must be dying it, 'cause the Raios _I _knew was a blonde!" Another roar of laughter was born.

"A Super Saiyan! You were a Super Saiyan, Rogue-kun!" Wendy exclaimed before going back to laughing.

"...I'm taking a walk," An annoyed Rogue said as he headed to the door.

"I'll come with you!" Fuyu said. "All this rain is a super delicious buffet for this genius!" The water Dragon Slayer soon followed Rogue out to dine on the rain with Sting, Lector, and Frosch right behind her(probably to continue laughing at Rogue). It was then that Natsu telepathically signalled everyone on his team to leave the guild hall, but not at once, in order to not appear suspicious, to prepare for what was about to happen.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Team Time Jumpers were at the outskirts of Magnolia as they watched the town get sucked up into the Anima.

"Even though this is horrible, you gotta admit that it looks _really_ cool," Natsu said.

"...Yeah," Everyone else said in unison while nodding their heads.

"Well, time to find Mystogan."

"Mystogan? Why?" Wendy asked.

"So we can get him to put his tiny balls in our mouths."

"Uh! I need an adult!"

"I am an adult."

* * *

Later, in what was once Magnolia, but is now a white wasteland, for some reason, Natsu and friends found a maskless Mystogan looking for any survivors.

"This is... surprising..." Mystogan said.

"I'm sure it is, but let's just get all this over with," Natsu said. _This stuff was lame the first time around, so it'll be just as lame this time. I'd like to get it over with as soon as-_ Natsu's nose then picked up a familiar scent a few meters away. He walked towards the area of the scent and threw his arm into the ground to grab a sleeping, buried Gajeel.

"Mrum eggs and toast..." He muttered before Natsu threw him on the ground and woke him up. "OW! What the hell, man?! ...Hey, what happened to the town?!"

"That magic wormhole thing Mystogan talked about."

"Alright, but why is it snowing? And why is everything white? And why did the 'Anima' thing make a new layer of ground, or whatever?!"

"...I don't know." _! I just realized something! If Dragon Slayers are unaffected by the Anima, that would mean-_

"NATSU-KUUUUUUN!" The slightly annoying voice of Fuyu Navidades yelled as she, the child Dragon Slayers, and their Exceeds ran onto the scene.

_...Of course... _Lector and Frosch went to discuss the situation with Happy and Charle, Sting and Rogue simultaneously asked Wendy if she was alright, causing some sort of argument between them, and Fuyu ran to tell Natsu everything that happened.

"...And then everything went, like, 'WHOOSH!' Up into the sky!"

"Yeah, I know..."

"But the worst thing is that it took away the rain, and this genius is still hungry! ...It's also the weirdest thing, because that doesn't seem to make sense in any way!"

"I know, right?! Anyway, Mystogan, can you explain things to these guys?"

"Very well," Mystogan said.

* * *

And so, Mystogan told the extra five people about Edolas, the situation that brought him to Earth Land, and what had just happened to the town.

"The people in your world all use magic items to fight?!" Fuyu asked with sparkles in her eyes. "Awesome! This genius _has _to get her hands on that!"

"Right..." Mystogan said. "Anyway, I'll be able to gather enough Anima remnants to send the Lacrima back here, but it'll take a few days to do so. While I'm doing that, I'll need the fourteen of you to do whatever you can to stall."

"To stall their dastardly plan... of killing cats?" Rogue asked.

"...Yes...?"

"The cats that rule over all of humanity."

"Yes."

"...I can't be the only one who finds this completely ridiculous, right?" Everyone besides Mystogan shook their heads in agreement to what Rogue was saying.

"And just _what _is ridiculous about humans being governed by flying cats? ...Oh god..."

"In Earth Land, you own cats. In Soviet Edolas, cats own you!" Fuyu said, earning a laugh from everyone.

_How did I not realize this before?!_

"Also, Mystogan-san," Sting started, "if they _want _us Dragon Slayers to come there, wouldn't it make more sense to just stay here and wait for you to take care of things?"

"No," Jellal said. "If they realize that the Dragon Slayers aren't showing up, they might lose their patience and get whatever they can from the Lacrima itself. In order to save the town, we need to make them think we've fallen for their trap, while actually, we're doing it on purpose, and, therefore, trapping them." Everyone, except for Erza, looked a little confused.

"A trap within a trap..." Erza started, "trapception! That's brilliant, Jellybean!"

"?!" At the mention of "Jellybean," everyone once again started to laugh, with Gray laughing the hardest. _I told her a million times _not _to use my sex name in public..._

"Okay!" Natsu shouted. "Now that we're all clear on everything, let's get this started! Mystogan, the X-Balls, if you'd be so kind!"

"The what?" Mystogan asked. "Oh, right!" He then pulled out some glass bottles filled with red balls and began handing them to the mages. "Almost forgot about these."

_These _really _would've come in handy in the beginning of all of this the first time around, you know. _As Natsu thought this, Mystogan kept handing people X-Balls, but when he got to Wendy, he had apparently run out.

_First you have me raised by a ghost, and now this?! Nice going, man!_ Wendy thought to herself.

"It's alright, Wendy," Jellal said to the little girl. "I'd be more than happy to let you put _my_ balls in your mouth."

"I need an adult?"

"I am an adult." Jellal, much to Wendy's chagrin, then fed Wendy some of his X-Balls.

"Okay, then!" Natsu exclaimed. "Beam us up, Mysty!"

"...Okay, so none of that," Mystogan said with a sweat drop as the fourteen of them were enveloped in a bright light.

* * *

When the light faded, everyone found themselves in what could only be Edolas.

"What's _with _this place?" Gajeel asked. "All these floating rocks and weird ass trees... are we tripping balls, or something?!" Wendy patted her chest a few times.

"No..." She said with apparent annoyance, "at least I'm not..."

_What exactly would've confirmed that for you?! _Carla thought to herself. As she thought this, she saw a nearby building and motioned for everyone to look inside. "It seems like some sort of storage house... that gives me an idea."

"What?"

"Even though this is a parallel universe where no one knows who we are, let's disguise ourselves!"

"Brilliant!" So they went to put on their unnecessary disguises, but there were apparently only clothes that fit Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla. Luckily, though, the other ten managed to each find a pair of glasses to wear.

_Not gonna say anything about the stupidity of that, _Natsu thought to himself. "! Hey! Look! It's the Edolas Fairy Tail!" He exclaimed, pointing at the building.

"Why is it a tree?!" Lucy asked, only to be answered with a silence that meant no one knew. Natsu then ran up to the "building" and kicked the door open.

"Stop right there, magical scum!" Natsu yelled.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed the guild.

"Haha, you should see the looks on your faces. Oh, I'm just kidding; it's me, Natsu!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

"Haha, you're killing me, guys! Now come on, stop it already."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lucy Ashley then walked up to Natsu, picked him up, and threw him into the ceiling.

"Damn," she said. "If we were outside, you would've gone straight to Pluto."

"'Pluto?!'" Lucy exclaimed. It was then that the parallel guild noticed the people outside. Edo Lucy walked up to Lucy, stared at her for a few seconds, and asked, "Have we met?"

"?! Uh... no...?" _These glasses actually work?!_ After that, everyone was taking a breather from the events of the last few minutes and hanging out in Edolas' Fairy Tail, though some, like a Wendy spying on her more developed double, were enjoying it less than others.

"That's not fair at all!" Wendy said with a pout.

"Not really anything you can do, though, Wendy-chan," Sting said, earning him a death glare from Wendy.

"Don't worry, Wendy; I think you're fine just the way you are," Rogue said, earning him a smile and blush from Wendy.

_Rogue, you bastard! How dare you get in a good line with Wendy-chan! _It was at that moment that a random guy barged and yelled, "IT'S THE FAIRY HUNTERS!" After that, everyone started running around like crazy as giant black monsters appeared outside. As one attempted to attack the guild, it suddenly teleported to a sort of desert thanks to Edo Levy.

* * *

After escaping the "Fairy Hunters," Natsu and co. revealed their identities to Edo Fairy Tail(to those who had counterparts that the guild knew of, the glasses truly did hide their identities) and why they had come to their world. After that, they left for the Royal City, though Natsu had to drag Fuyu away from the guild.

"I don't wanna go yet!" Fuyu yelled, digging her heels into the dirt.

"Come ON Fuyu!" Natsu yelled as he dragged her.

"This genius wanted to look at their weapons some more, though!"

"In the next town, there'll probably be an illegal store filled with the stuff, so stop being difficult, okay?!"

"...OK~!"

_This girl..._ Lucy thought with an annoyed look.

* * *

True to Natsu's word, there was indeed a magic black market in the town of Louen, and the sight of all of the magic items nearly made the water Dragon Slayer pass out from sheer joy; since they didn't have any Edolas currency, though, Fuyu ended up "borrowing" the weapons from the shop and storing them in a Requip pocket dimension. A few days later, they met up with Natsu's counterpart who had come to give them a ride to the capital. After going into the city and hearing the king's horrible speech, the team had retired to a hotel.

"Are you _sure _we can't just go kick their asses?" Gajeel asked Natsu.

"This is the least complicated method," Natsu said. "They already know we're here, so there's no reason to just charge into the castle. Eventually, their impatience will make _them _come for _us, _which is when we'll be able to fight and stall long enough for Mystogan to send the Lacrima back. As long as we just stay put, everything will be fine."

"Yeah, but I wanted to have a _giant _brawl to honor my reunion with Raios! ...That's weird... he's usually get mad for saying that name by now." Gajeel then started looking around the room briskly. "Raios isn't here!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Sting-kun is gone, too!" Wendy exclaimed.

"So are their Exceeds," Carla said.

"Fuyu's not here, either!" Natsu exclaimed with some sweat. "They must've been captured when we weren't looking! We have to go break them out before an old guy shoves his hose into them!"

"I need an adult?" Wendy asked.

"I AM AN ADUUUUULT!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I'm a bit torn on this week's **_**Fairy Tail.**_

**Pie: How so?**

**Fox: It mostly stems from the stuff with Erza that we saw. On the one hand, her not releasing her "Second Origin" this whole time is pretty beast. On the other hand... it seems a little stupid that she would be doing something like that.**

**Pie: Eh, what can you do?**

**Fox: True.**

**Pie: Also, what is the title referencing, exactly?**

**Fox: You WRYYYYYYYYYlly don't know?**

**Pie: ...Never mind.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	27. Dragon Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (2)

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, the town of Magnolia were sucked into Edolas and turned into a Lacrima in order for the king to obtain infinite magic by using the Lacrima to kill their feline overlords. Not accepting that convoluted plan, Natsu and the rest of Team Time Jumpers, Gajeel, Fuyu, Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch traveled to Edolas to put a stop to the plan together... at least, that _was _the plan before the last five mentioned people vanished.

To explain this, we must go back to a little before their disappearance was noticed. King Faust had finished his speech, so they all headed back to their hotel. When Sting and Rogue turned to do that, though, Fuyu grabbed them by the arms and dragged them away in silence, prompting their cats to follow them.

"What are you doing, Fuyu-san?!" Sting asked. "We have to get back to the others!"

"I know..." Fuyu began, "but this genius needs to find something, first, and you two are helping me!"

"We're here, too, you know," Lector said, pointing to himself and Frosch.

"...And?"

"! That's cold, Fuyu-san..."

"Fro thinks so, too..." Frosch agreed.

"It doesn't look like we have a choice in this, so what are we doing?" Rogue asked.

"First, we're sneaking into the palace," Fuyu responded.

_Of course... that's the _stupidest _thing we could do right now, so it only makes sense that we would do it..._

* * *

After that, the five of them managed to break into the palace through an area of low security. Fuyu found some guards that got beaten rather easily, and after she got one of them to say something that the other four didn't pay attention to, they started heading down a seemingly random hall.

"What's in this direction, Fuyu?" Rogue asked.

"The basement;" Fuyu said, "and if that guard wasn't lying, 'that' should be there, as well..." Before Rogue could ask what "that" was, he and the other Dragon Slayers found themselves tangled up in a sort of white gel.

"What the?!" Sting exclaimed before it wrapped around his mouth. It was then that the Royal Guard, led by Erza Knightwalker, walked into view.

"Don't bother struggling," Knightwalker said. "You won't be able to use your magic while covered in our spuge."

"Uggh!" Fuyu said in disgust.

"Super Polymorphic Un-unleashing Gel. Now then... men! Take the Dragon Slayers to the dungeon so their magic can be extracted for the Dragon Chain Cannon!"

"Yes, My Lord!" The soldiers said in unanimous gratuitous English as they dragged the Dragon Slayers away.

"What should we do, Frosch?" Lector asked in a whisper.

"Follow Fro's lead," Frosch whispered back. "Excuse me," Frosch said to Knightwalker at a normal volume, "can you let them go, please?"

"Sorry, but I cannot do that; I have orders to follow," Knightwalker responded.

"...Excuse me, but aren't we your lords and masters?" Frosch asked with a sort of menacing tone.

"! Y-yes?"

"So how _dare _you defy one of your feline overlords, you pretentious, naked ape?!"

"I-I-I'm sorry, but this c-c-comes from our king and your q-q-queen, so it can't be overturned..."

"...Very well, but you must still be punished for your unacceptable behavior." Frosch then flew up to Knightwalker's face, slapped her repeatedly, kicked her until she fell, and spat on her back. "Fro will be back, bitch!" Frosch then flew away from her with Lector right behind Frosch; the red cat's face was one of bewilderment as to what the hell just transpired.

_...Damn cats..._ We now go to a little after Natsu and co. realized that five of them were missing.

* * *

"It's called the Wilhelm Scream, man," one guard was saying to another guard inside the palace. "It's, like, the one in _Star Wars_ where the stormtrooper falls."

"Aww yeah, I love that scream," the other guard said. "Uh, doesn't it sound like- 'EEEAAGH!'"

"Nah, dude, it's more like 'AaaaAAAH!'"

"Naw, that wasn't it, either." The second guard was then blasted with fire and screamed, "AAAAUGH!"

"Dude, that was totally it!" The first guard was blasted with an identical blast of fire. "AAAAUGH!"

"There this way!" An emerging Natsu yelled to the others. "Come on!" He then continued running towards the dungeon.

"Natsu sure is fired up to rescue those kids," Lucy said.

"More like to rescue Fuyu," Happy said, making Lucy punch him in the face. As they kept running, a spear was suddenly thrown in front of them, causing an explosion that knocked them all back. When the dust cleared, they saw Erza Knightwalker picking the aforementioned spear up from the ground.

_Why do I dress so slutty(on a daily basis) in Edolas? _Erza thought to herself.

"Get out of our way," Natsu said, covering himself in flames.

"Sorry, but I can't do that, Dragon Slayer," Knightwalker said, pointing the Ten Commandments at Natsu.

"Alright, then." Natsu flames started to intensify, but they died down when Jellal put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take her," he said.

"?!"

"You need more time to calm down; fighting someone as strong as her when you're like this won't end well. Besides, our ace shouldn't waste his time on anyone who isn't the strongest."

"'Ace?!'" Gajeel yelled.

"...Fine," Natsu said, directing everyone to keep heading down the hall, Erza shouting, "Good luck, Jellal!" to her husband.

"'Jellal?' Our prince was named 'Jellal,'" Knightwalker said. "I'd say that you're the Earth Land version of him, but you look completely different." Jellal then removed his glasses. "What?!"

_I _don't _think those cats had a very hard time taking over this world..._ Jellal thought with a sweat drop.

* * *

A few minutes after leaving Jellal to Knightwalker, the remaining eight found the dungeon where an unconscious Sting, Rogue, and Fuyu lay. Gajeel ran straight to Rogue while Natsu ran to Fuyu and Wendy to Sting.

"...WAKE UP!" Gajeel yelled in his surrogate little brother's ear, immediately waking him.

"What the hell, asshole?!" Rogue yelled back at him.

"What was thaaaaaaat~?!"

"I mean... thank you?"

"That's better. Geehee." Over with Sting, Wendy was violently shaking the white Dragon Slayer to wake him up, but to no avail.

"It's a good thing I know CPR," Wendy said, making Rogue angry at the thought of Sting getting to kiss Wendy before he could. This anger, however, faded when he saw what Wendy called "CPR." "Wake up! Wake...up! Why aren't you waking up?! Maybe punching him will work!" Wendy then punched Sting in the face, actually waking him up.

"Okay, who the hell did that?!" He yelled.

"Um... me...?" Wendy muttered, slowly raising her hand.

"Oh, it's okay, then." Over with Fuyu, Natsu was doing nothing as her eyes slowly opened, her first sight being a livid Natsu.

"Um... hello..." She weakly said.

"Are you an idiot?!" Natsu yelled. "We had a perfect plan, and you just ruined it! You know that, right?!"

"...Yes..."

"Seriously! What if you had gotten hurt, huh, Fuyu?!"

_He was worried... about that...? _

"What the hell were you doing to take that risk, anyway?!"

"...Pursuing my mission." This confused the group immensely, but then Natsu remembered what Fuyu had said her main focus of research was.

"This deals with Dragons?!" Everyone became even more confused.

"When this genius heard about the Exceed queen, something didn't really add up. Sure, she can see the future in both Edolas _and _Earth Land, and it's those cognitive abilities that have helped the Anima be used, but if Earth Land is a different world, how would she know where anything is located? The queen can only see things that will happen, so she wouldn't be able to figure out the locations of anything in Earth Land!"

"Now that you mention it... So how do they find anything, then?"

"This genius deduced that they must use some sort of device that allows them to look at all of Earth Land and locate sources of high magic! Since Mystogan-san can use those staves in our world, that 'Global Viewing Device' would surely work in Earth Land, as well!"

"So you broke into the palace..." Gajeel started.

"To try and find it?" Wendy finished.

"Yes..." Fuyu said. "But it looks like I might've messed things up for everyone..." Fuyu then started to cry. "This genius is sorry. She... she just wanted to surprise everyone with it... and feel like she was doing something right..."

"..." was Natsu's response.

"But now... now you probably hate me, Natsu-kun. Right...?" Natsu then brought his hand to Fuyu's head and rubbed it.

"Idiot. I can't hate you after you did something like this." Natsu said with a smile.

"...Next time, say that _before _I cry; this genius hates it, 'cause it's the only water she can't eat!"

_This scene... It's just like how Satoshi would rub Shion's head in Meakashi-hen! _Wendy thought to herself. _I am _so _shipping those two, now!_

"If you two are done, we need to plan our next move," Gray said.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch said as Frosch and Lector flew into the room.

"Where have _you two _been?!"

"Fro doesn't feel like saying."

"Whatever."

* * *

After that, the group divided, yet again. Happy flew Gajeel up to the Lacrima to try and turn it back to people before the Dragon Chain Cannon could be fired, Lector and Frosch took Sting and Rogue to Extalia to warn the Exceeds, and Lucy, Gray, and Erza went back to where Jellal was to see how he was doing, leaving the group to be Natsu, Fuyu, Wendy, and Carla. As they looked for the control room, the four of them suddenly found themselves at what appeared to be an amusement park.

"Why the hell is there an amusement park here?!" Carla yelled.

"It's stupid, but admittedly not the stupidest thing to happen since we came here," Wendy said with a sweat drop. It was then that the carousel started rotating and a man wearing pink armor came into view.

"Hmmm," the man hummed. "How terribly fun. HAHAHAHA!" The carousel then rotated him out of view. "This truly is fun. Hmmm," he said when he came back into view. As the foursome pondered the stupidity of all of this, a boat suddenly swung in front of them, startling them enough to make them fall to the ground.

"This truly amazingly fun magic... is about to run dry in this world," a man who stood atop a roller coaster track said. "Can you guys understand how we feel?"

"We will get our hands on an infinite amount of magic no matter the cost!"

"We're staking our lives on this; no one can stand in our way!"

"Hmm~~ Would you prefer to go back to your jail cell, or die here?"

"Sugarboy, don't give them the option of choosing."

"Hmmm~~~?" The other man took out some sort of wand.

"We've finished the extraction of magic from the dragon chick. If Code 'ETD' succeeds, we will no longer have any use for these Dragon Slayers. I'm going to kill these Earth Land dwellers who don't even know how expensive magic is." A light then shot out of the wand and surrounded the boat, lifting it into the air as it flew right at the group. Before anyone could do something, Fuyu moved in front of the other three and took a deep breath.

"Suiryū no Hōkō(Water Dragon's Roar)!" Fuyu shouted, shooting a giant blast of water out of her mouth that destroyed the boat in an instant.

"What?!" The man exclaimed.

"HMMM~~~?!" Sugarboy hummed.

"Suiryū no Zanpa(Water Dragon's Wave Slice)!" Fuyu yelled, sending a blast of water at Sugarboy with a kick, surrounding him in a bubble and propelling him into a nearby building.

"Wow..." Carla said with a sweat drop.

"So this is Fuyu-san's fighting power," Wendy said with an identical sweat drop.

"AWESOME!" Natsu yelled.

"Ah~~! You praise me too much, Natsu-kuuuuun!" Fuyu said with a smile. "Anyway, you three find the control room; I'll take care of these two clowns!" Natsu and the other two nodded in unison and headed off to look for the control room.

"You're treating this situation, and ME, rather lightly, aren't you?!" The man atop the tracks said, motioning his wand as if he was attempting to do something.

"Suiryū no Uchimizu(Water Dragon's Water Shot)!" Fuyu threw a small drop of water at the man with enough force to knock him to the ground.

"You amazing little-"

"Don't lose your cool, now, Hughes!" Sugarboy shouted, gliding into the scene and cutting Fuyu's legs with his Rosa Espada.

"How are you gliding like that?!" Fuyu asked.

"Hmmm. ...I don't know, really."

_This whole "adventure" just reached a new level of stupidity..._ Fuyu thought with a facepalm. It was then that a roller coaster cart ran into the Dragon Slayer, knocking her into the air and causing her to land inside it.

"The 'Hell Coaster's' ride runs at ten times its normal speed due to magic!" Hughes exclaimed. "No matter who it may be, five minutes on this ride will..." He then noticed a sickly Fuyu. "She didn't even last 10 seconds! Who is this girl...? She's so weak!" Hughes then burst into laughter while Sugarboy kept sliding around like an idiot.

_Gotta... get it... out... _Mustering up all of her strength, Fuyu Requipped a black hat with silver balls attached to it onto her head. A silver energy wave was then emitted from the hat, and the coaster stopped moving.

"What?!" Fuyu then got out of the cart and jumped onto a nearby building.

"Much better."

"I don't know what just happened..." The familiar light came out of Hughes' wand and lifted the ferris wheel into the air, "but this time, you're amazingly done!" Using his magic, Hughes flung the ferris wheel at Fuyu, but before it her, the same energy wave came into contact with it and made it fall to the ground.

"When magic items are used..."

"?!"

"...there's always a sort of science to it. Based on what I've seen, I've deduced that your weapon emits electromagnetic waves that you can use to control the movements of certain objects. It's an impressive power..." She then dramatically pointed to her hat, "but with this magic tool, the 'Risotto Nero,' it's utterly useless!"

"'Risotto Nero?!' But that's just a weak item that magnetically attracts small things a few feet away; it can't do something this amazing!"

"Maybe originally, but this genius modified it to be able to emit EMP waves!"

"No way! It's impossible to modify magic!" It was then that Sugarboy glided right behind Fuyu to attack her; this, however, was done to no avail, as Fuyu gave him a powerful kick that knocked him out immediately.

"Maybe for you, but I, Fuyu Navidades, have the greatest mind and second greatest love for magic in all of Earth Land; with those two things combined, nothing is impossible!" Water then shot out of Fuyu's feet, propelling her to where Hughes was so she could deliver a quick jab to his face. "I don't have time to fight you, Hughes. Natsu-kun, who's always been so nice to me, decided to keep liking me, and I can't have him regret that by losing to you!"

"Hiiiii!"

"Suiryū no Karakusa-gawara(Water Dragon's Arabesque Tile)!" Fuyu punched the air right in front of her. At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, Hughes was blasted with a massive shockwave that knocked him tens of meters away. "Now then... time for this genius to take their super cool weapons~~! YAAAAAY~~~!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	28. Dragon Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (3)

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After leaving Hughes and Sugarboy to Fuyu, Natsu, Wendy, and Carla ended up at the attraction known as "Monster Academy." Feeling that there might be something useful, Wendy opted to stay behind and search the place while Natsu and Carla kept going forward.

"I still think one of us should have stayed with her..." Carla said.

"Relax, Carla!" Natsu said with a smile. "She can handle herself! …..." Natsu's smile then turned into a face of deadpan expression.

"What's with you?"

"I just remembered something about that attraction..."

* * *

Back at "Monster Academy," Wendy was standing in front of what appeared to be a coffin with a huge grin.

"I saw the description of this as soon as we walked in..." Wendy said to no one. "'Complete Transformation Box;' a device that changes the clothes of the wearer. To this Otaku, that only means one thing..." Wendy then threw a fist into the air as blood shot out of her nose, "INFINITE COSPLAY(A/N: She says this in English)!  
"We might be in the middle of something, but goofing off in such a glorious way should be fine, right~~~~?!" Wendy then jumped inside the box and closed the lid. When it opened, he hair was in a pompadour, she had stars on her arms, and she wore sunglasses, a speedo, and an open loud Hawaiian "Aloha" shirt(exposing her white bra) with a large golden chain necklace around her neck. The Otaku then leaned to the right, bending her knee to the same side and keeping the other leg straight at the opposite direction, threw her head back, and had her arms go over her head and lock together wrist-to-wrist.

"SUPER~~~! Next I'll-"

"Come back here, Coco!" A voice outside of the "Monster Academy" yelled.

"'Coco?!' Natsu told me about this; she's the girl who steals the key for the Dragon Chain Cannon and gets chased by that old guy "Byro!" I _should_ go help... but there _is _a lot more cosplaying I could do. ...I'll flip a coin... 21 times..."  
Line  
Away from the idiot Dragon Slayer, Coco had run out of stamina and had to stop running, allowing Byro to catch up to her.

"Stop being an idiot, Coco!" Byro yelled. "Don't you want infinite magic, as well?!"

"If it *huff* means that Lily *huff* and other people have to die *huff*... then I don't want it! I'd rather have an infinite amount of smiles!" Coco yelled.

"OW!" A voice yelled in gratuitous English, making both of them turn to see an approaching Wendy(still cosplaying). "A comment like that is SUPER this week!"

"Who are you?!" Byro yelled.

"Who am I?" From seemingly nowhere, music began to play, and the Wendy, in a sing-song tone combined with dancing, said, "I'm my country's most SUPER girl! Fiore's adorable face! When people see me, they go, 'WOW!' MMMMM!" She then struck the same pose as before, "WENDY!"

"..." was Byro's response.

"No offense..." Coco started, "but you look like a pervert..."

"'Pervert?!'" Wendy exclaimed. "Well, as long as we understand each other."

_That wasn't a compliment..._

"You! Old guy! I won't allow you to lay a hand on my loli comrade!"

"_Loli?!" _

"Tenryū no Saiga!" Wendy sent a blast of wind out from her hand at Byro.

"Flame Liquid!" Byro shouted, throwing a liquid out of a vial that turned into fire, stopping the attack. "Storm Liquid!" He flung a liquid that turned into cyclones, but Wendy quickly ate them all. "What?!"

"Not very tasty, but thanks, nonetheless. Tenryū no Kenkaku!" Wendy's body became clad in wind as she headbutted Byro in the guy, launching him into the wall. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I-" Coco started before she noticed how intensely Wendy was staring at her. "Huh?!"

"Not only are you a loli, but you also look like a dog; that's SUPER moe!"

"Uhhh... okay..." At that moment, a tentacle shot out from the wall and ensnared Coco.

"Gotcha, Coco!" Byro's voice yelled. It was then that a giant red octopus emerged from the wall. "Octopus Liquid!"

_I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going, so I'm gonna end it here! _Wendy then took a big breath. "Tenryū no Gusto Breath(Sky Dragon's Gusto Breath)!" She then fired a larger version of her roar at Byro, hoping to defeat him in one hit, but it appeared to only do a little damage.

"Was that supposed to finish me?"

"! That's-" Wendy was then smacked into a wall by a tentacle.

"Since you were able to eat one of my earlier attacks, you must be one of those six Dragon Slayers. Sorry to say this, but compared to the three I drained magic from, you're just a hatchling!" Byro then swung another tentacle at Wendy.

"O swift wind... that dashes through the heavens... VERNIER!" Wendy gained a light blue aura and a speed boost that let her avoid the attack with seconds to spare. After that she began running around at incredible speed as she continually evaded tentacles.

"Stand still, you coward!" Eventually, Wendy ended up in direct alignment with the back of Byro's neck.

_The neck is any creature's most vital area! If I can hit that with my roar... _But before Wendy could attack, she was suddenly smacked into the ceiling by a tentacle.

"Thought I didn't see you there, brat?!" As Wendy fell from the ceiling, Byro grabbed her and threw her to the floor onto her back with tremendous force, creating a small crater.

_Is this guy really strong... or am I simply weak...? No... it's definitely the latter. Why am I weak, though? Why can Sting-kun and Rogue-kun use support magic better than me? Why am I only capable of this much when I've been training with Natsu? ...It's because of my "background as a 'Dragon Slayer.'"_  
_I've never received a real amount of training on how to use my magic, so that would make it me weaker than any of the other Dragon Slayers... and anyone else, in general. Even though I'm starting to use my "full power..." and Natsu's started to train me... I'm only learning how to fight like him. I don't know how to fight like me..._ Tears then came out of the blue-haired girl's face. _I... I... I don't know how to _be _me, and I never had the chance to learn!_ She then shut her eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next, and when she did, the scene completely changed.

* * *

In the midst of the darkness Wendy brought upon herself, a small light appeared. That small light grew and grew in size until it showed an image of a younger Wendy sitting on the lap of mother, Cait Marvell.

_Mom..._ Wendy thought.

"Wendy," the image of Cait started to say, "as my daughter, you have inherited the abilities of the sky Dragon; you know what that means, do you not?"

"I gots big teeth?" The image of little Wendy asked, pointing to her canines.

"Well, yes, but I was speaking in terms of magic, was I not?"

"Then I don't know, mommy. What's it mean?"

"It means that you can be powerful by wanting to protect those around you with all your heart."

"?"

"I should explain properly, should I not? When most people think of Dragons, they think of the ones that act monstrous and beastly, like the fire Dragon, Igneel, the iron Dragon, Metalicana, or the water Dragon, Yamuraiha. Because of this, my passive mother, Grandeeney, is often forgotten or labeled weak, but she's actually quite powerful."

"Gramdeeney?!"

"Yes. The Dragons I just mentioned, and many others... they all feed off of forces of destruction, do they not? My mother and the two of us, however, feed on the gentleness that is air, and it's harder to be non-violent than it is to be violent, is it not?"

"Yep yep yep!" Cait chuckled at this.

"And it's by making that non-violent spirit run through our blood that we gain the strength to protect those around us. Destruction is not something that can always triumph, and the thoughts, the power, the heart of those wanting peace will always defeat it. You won't forget that, will you not?" The image faded and Wendy was thrown back into reality.

* * *

"!" was Wendy's response to that memory as her eyelids shot up.

"? Still alive, are you?" Byro asked.

_Make it flow through my blood, eh? _Wendy then began to rapidly inhale and exhale.

"What's that, now? Hyperventilation? You won't have to worry about getting air soon, brat!" Byro then brought his tentacle down at Wendy, but it never connected due to being stopped by, what appeared to be, several balls of wind. "Huh?!"

_Mom... I'm still not good enough to truly protect people..._ One sixth of a gross of wind balls then appeared in the air, _but... it's fine if I want to be able to, right?! _The balls then all flew at Byro's head with tremendous speed, knocking him out and causing him to fall to the ground. But before his body could crush Wendy, a pink substance attached itself to Wendy and Coco and pulled them several meters away.

"Looks like my Bungee Gum worked just in time," the blue-haired user of the magic said as it was deactivated.

"Jellal...!" Wendy cried, giving him a hug.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Your Majesty!" Coco stammered as she began to bow repeatedly.

"There he is!" The voice of a scarlet-haired haired mage yelled as she and two others ran onto the scene.

"Did you find Wendy, Jellal?!" Lucy asked before seeing that he did.

_The hell is with that outfit and the dog girl? _Gray thought to himself.

"Are you alright, Wendy?" Jellal asked.

"Yeah..." She said, wiping away her tears. "I'm a bit beat up, though..." Coco then took out what looked like a brown bone and threw it into Wendy's mouth. "What did you..." Wendy then shot up and struck her previous pose. "SUPER~~~!"

"W-Wendy...?" Jellal asked with a sweat drop.

"I don't know why, but I'm suddenly filled with energy! Did you do this, Cocoppi(A/N: The "ppi" is a honorific used for pets)?!"

"Yep!" Coco exclaimed. "My One Booster(A/N: The katakana for "one" is the same as the Japanese onomatopoeia for a dog barking, thus creating a pun) fills whoever eats it with a ton of energy! That's how I can run around so much, Anego(A/N: "Anego" means "Sis" or "Boss")!"

"'Anego?!'" Lucy exclaimed, her jaw dropping. "Also, are we gonna ignore Wendy basically being drugged?!"

"Yes," Erza said in deadpan fashion. "The important thing here is that _we_ have the key, meaning the Dragon Chain Cannon can't be-" Before Erza could finish her statement, however, a pillar of ice shot up near Coco, knocking the key out of her hands and flinging it into the grasp of a tattered-up mage.

"Captain Knightwalker?!" Coco exclaimed.

"You didn't beat her, Jellal?!" Wendy asked.

"I was about to..." Jellal started, "but Erza and the others distracted me when they showed up, giving her a chance to escape."

"It's 'Stone Ocean' all over again!" No one bothered to ask what she was referencing.

"Your treachery shall be dealt with later, Coco!" Knightwalker yelled, activating Silfarion and dashing off.

"We have to stop her!" Erza yelled.

"No!" Coco said. "At that speed, we won't be able to catch her in time! I have a Legion that can fly us up to the Lacrima; let's go there and try to do something! Come on, Anego and friends!" Coco then started to run down a hall.

"Again with the Anego?!" Lucy exclaimed.

* * *

Later, Jellal's group were flying at the Lacrima island at incredible speed. While in the air, they met up with Natsu, Fuyu, and Carla on a stolen Legion, having all gotten back together at one point. Afterwards, the nine of them, plus Happy and Gajeel, began pushing against the island with all their strength, despite Pantherlily's protests. Eventually, to some people's surprise, Sting, Rogue, Lector, Frosch, and all of Extalia showed up to help.

"How come that one cat's got one wing?" Gajeel asked, looking at Queen Shagotte.

"She sacrificed her right wing to preserve the vitality of her egg," Carla responded.

"You cats come from eggs?!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"That explains why you don't have a penis," Gajeel said to Happy, shocking him greatly.

"Eggs... no genitals... green color..." Wendy muttered. She then turned sharply towards Frosch. "Are you a Yoshi?!"

"...Yes, Wendy, Fro is a green f*cking dinosaur!" Frosch said, sarcastically.

"Can... can I ride you?" Before Frosch could say anything else, the Lacrima suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

"Holy **** on a **** sandwich!" yelled everyone present in response. It was then that an unmasked Mystogan appeared on his white Legion.

"The Lacrima has been successfully returned to Earth Land; all of it's components will return to normal after fully leaving this dimension." Everyone then began to celebrate, but as they did, Lily was suddenly shot in the back. "Lily!" As one Exceed flew to help him, everyone saw that he was shot by Erza Knightwalker who was leading a giant fleet of soldiers on Legions.

"Fake Prince!" Knightwalker yelled.

"Knightwalker..." Jellal said.

"You dare raise a hand against the prince, Erza Knightwalker?"

"I don't see you as a son," King Faust's voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. "Hiding away for seven years... how _dare _you show yourself to me again?!  
"I am well aware that you were closing up the Anima in Earth Land; you betrayed your country."

"Your Anima operation has failed; there's no reason to fight anymore."

"'Reason?' 'Reason to fight,' you say? This is not a fight. This is a one-way slaughter... a retaliation to those who stand against the king." It was here that a giant, mechanical Dragon came into view. "If you choose to stand against, I will wipe you out, even if it's you, Jellal. Nothing will be left behind."

"Father..."

"I am _not _your father; I am the king of Edolas.  
"That's right... if I kill you here, there will be no one to stop the Anima in Earth Land. I can create a giant Lacrima and fuse with the Exceeds as many times as I wish. FUHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nothing is impossible for a king! The power of a king is absolute!" The robot Dragon then let out a mighty roar.

"Dorma Anim... it means 'Dragon Knight' in our world... is he talking about an armor-reinforced Dragon?!"

"'Dragon?!'" Fuyu repeated.

"It _does _look like one..." Sting said.

"What the hell is 'armor-reinforced' supposed to mean?!" Rogue asked.

"It means that it's equipped with special Lacrima that nullifies all external magic!" Coco yelled.

"Capture the Exceeds, my soldiers!" Faust yelled. At his command, the soldiers flew at the Exceeds with their Legions and began shooting them with light beams to turn them into Lacrima.

"We have to protect the Exceeds!" Erza yelled.

"But what about that giant robot?!" Gray asked, pointing at the Dorma Anim.

"We can't do anything to it if it's magic proof!" Coco exclaimed. "Right, Anego?!"

"Seriously, what's with the 'Anego?!'" Lucy yelled. As their Legions flew to help the cats, the Dorma Anim fired a giant laser at them. Fortunately, Mystogan was able to deflect it, but because of it's anti-magic armor, Faust's machine was unharmed and able to blast Mystogan away.

"It fits you better to scour the ground like that!" Faust yelled. "Why don't you go off and die like that, while you're at it?!" He then prepared to fire another blast, but stopped when the Dorma Anim was hit in the neck by a blast of water. Immediately afterwards, the underside was hit by a blast of light. "Nuoh! Who is that?! Who is attacking the Dorma Anim?!"

"Eiryū no..." A metal skirt-wearing boy started to say, "Hōkō!" The robot Dragon was pushed aside by a huge mass of shadows.

"Nice job, you two," Fuyu said.

"No... your attack was better than both of ours, Fuyu."

"Do you _always _gotta bring us down, Rogue?" Sting asked.

"Sting-kun!" Lector yelled.

"Rogue!" Frosch yelled.

"Fuyu..." Lucy said. Her eyes then widened as she saw two figures behind the aforementioned three. "Natsu! Gajeel!" Everyone stared at the sight in disbelief.

"You didn't go?" Jellal asked Wendy.

"I don't feel SUPER enough to fight that robot..." Wendy responded. What was left of the group kept flying towards the Exceeds.

"Natsu-kun, Gajeel-kun, leave this guy to us," Fuyu said.

"?!" was Natsu's response.

"This bastard hurt my cat; I ain't leavin' him to you three!" Gajeel yelled

"If all five of us fight him, no one will get the 'Global Viewing Device!'" Fuyu yelled, reminding Natsu and Gajeel of the device that Fuyu tried to steal that could let a person see all of Earth Land. Fuyu then Requipped a small, black, rectangular Lacrima with a silver square crystal attached to the end of it and threw it to Natsu. "It should be in the form of a Lacrima in the basement of the palace; just plug that 'USB Lacrima' into it, and all of its functions will be transferred for usage in Earth Land!" Natsu then gave Fuyu a quick nod and ran to the palace, Gajeel grudgingly following him.

_In truth, this genius could've gone herself, but by doing this, the chance of me getting to take that super awesome robot goes up!_

* * *

Back with the rest of the group, they had finally caught up to Knightwalker and the army when the undersides of their Legions were shot, making them all fall to the ground. However, Jellal managed to use his Bungee Gum to latch onto a Legion and stay in the air.

"Fake Prince...!" Knightwalker said.

"Shall we end this, Knightwalker?" Jellal asked. "Even though you're Erza, you've hurt Fairy Tail too much."

"You too. As the Prince, you shouldn't have defied our lord."

"We don't need two of you," They said in unison. Jellal then materialized his sword "Tickover" and lunged at Knightwalker, his sword colliding with her spear. "This battle won't end unless one of us dies!"

* * *

Back with Natsu and Gajeel, the two Dragon Slayers finally reached the basement of the palace and found it to be, to their surprise, a football stadium full of people.

"The hell?!" was what their faces said.

"Kill them!" Shouted the people. "Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

"It's the intruders!" One person shouted.

"Mages from the other world!" Another person shouted.

"Kill them!" Everyone shouted again. "Kill them! Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

"OK!" A voice yelled in gratuitous English. "Who are the intruding mages that have entered our world~~?!"

"Them!"

"And who is going to defeat them~~~?!" The owner of the voice then ran into the stadium. It was a giant brown monster of sorts. It had a horse head with a moustache and five eyes in an arch formation, six legs, and six arms; the upper two had two hooves in place of hands, the left holding a microphone, the middle two's forearms were ten white, stringy things with a hoof at the end of each, all tied together by bands, and the lower two held a fullmetal spiked roller. It also had a long tail, a shield with stars and stripes on it a little below its chest, black lines that ran all around his body, and eight metal discs at each of its sides.

"Professor Baal Miran Biiiiiiiiig!"

"YAAAAAAAY!"

"Baal! Baal! Baal! Baal!"

"MEEEEEEEEE!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Been a while since I wrote a chapter this long.**

**Pie: Also been a while since the two of us showed up.**

**Fox: Yep. Next chapter's the end of Edolas, so I hope you enjoyed this arc, as well!**

**Pie: Speaking of things ending, what are your thoughts on the **_**Fairy Tail **_**anime ending?**

**Fox: I don't care that much; I honestly stopped watching it a while ago. Besides, the manga's much better; the anime tones down the violence and adds in unnecessary stuff; I hate it when they do that! Ironic that I've decided to watch it again and I'm saying all of this.**

**Pie: Really?! From where?!**

**Fox: The "Key of the Starry Heavens" arc.**

**Pie: The filler arc?!**

**Fox: I have no choice! Hiro made a continuity nodto it, so I should include it to try and make the story as good as possible!**

**Pie: You just **_**love **_**to infuriate me, don't you?!**

**Fox: There is a bit of a thrill to it...**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	29. Dragon Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (4)

**Fox: WARNING! This chapter might contain excessive amounts of totally crazy shit! You've been warned!**

**Pie: Read it anyway.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _the final battles had been fully set. As a part of some sort of honor thing, Jellal went to fight Erza Knightwalker. In order to protect everyone, Fuyu, Sting, and Rogue challenged the king and his Dorma Anim. Finally, in order to help with Fuyu's goals, Natsu and Gajeel have challenged the esoteric Professor Baal Miran Big, and it is there that we shall begin!

"OK! EVERYBODY!" Baal shouted into his microphone, gratuitously. "Now that I've arrived..."

"Tetsuryūkon!" Gajeel shouted, hitting the Professor in the face with a club.

"Uwaaa!" The crowd shouted. "Gyaaaa!"

"Shut up, all of you!"

"RIIIIIIIIII!"

"HEY! YOUUUUUUU!" Baal shouted, gratuitously, whilst pointing at Gajeel. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hey," Natsu said to him, "where's the 'Global Viewing Device?'"

"...YA~~Y... Hmph. Who would tell..."

"Karyū no Hōkō!" Baal Miran Big was blasted in the face with fire.

"GABOOOOOOOOOOO! Wha..." He fell to the ground from the sheer force of the attack.

* * *

Back with Jellal and Knightwalker, the two had relocated themselves to a floating island.

"Gravity Core!" Knightwalker shouted, firing a black sphere from her spear.

"Hoag's Ring!" Jellal shouted, shooting a black ring from his chest that cancelled it out.

"Blue Crimson!" Knightwalker fired ice and fire from her spears, but Jellal managed to dodge.

"Gegenschein!" A blackish yellow beam was fired at Knightwalker.

"Rune Save!" Knightwalker's spear changed again as she cut through the beam. "Silfarion!" With a speed boost, she charged right at Jellal.

"Repel!" Before the attack could connect, Knightwalker found herself thrown back. Jellal then jumped into the air and, with Meteor, came at her diagonally.

"Mildeajin Mahō Kenryū: FukurōYasha(Mildean Magic Sword Style: Demon Owl)!" Before she could react, Knightwalker was slashed across the chest by Jellal's "Tickover." She took a swing at him, but he used Descorrer to teleport out of the way and reappear a few feet away.

"Why, you..." Knightwalker's spear changed into the cannon form that was used to shoot Lily. "Million Suns!" A powerful beam was fired at Jellal.

"Kisei Tsue(Parasitic Wand)!" Jellal pulled his arm back and did a powerful thrust with his sword,causing the entire blast to get sucked into it.

"What?!" Knightwalker began charging for another attack.

"Luz de la Luna!" In his free hand, Jellal created a green javelin that was immediately thrown into Million Suns to plug up its opening, creating a small explosion. When the dust cleared, the Ten Commandments was back in its default form of Eisenmeteor and its wielder was on one knee, breathing heavily and bloody all over.

"Give up..."

"NEVER! I _will _take you down! For the sake of gaining infinite magic... I cannot lose!"

"Don't you see what magic is doing to you?! To your world?! It's become the only thing you care about and has corrupted all of your minds! But it's not too late to change! You don't need magic to be happy!"

"Then..." She then got back on her feet, "then why do you care about us taking _your _magic?!"

"?!"

"If magic is such an unnecessary thing, why are you all fighting against losing yours so much? If someone has a need for that which you apparently don't care about... isn't it weird to stop them from having it?!"

"No, that's-"

"I don't want to hear excuses, you fucking hypocrite!" The Ten Commandment then turned pitch-black and a brown, wood-like substance grew from the other end and attached itself to Knightwalker's arm.

_What is _this?! _Her magic just spiked... and this feeling... _As Jellal thought this, Knightwalker was suddenly right in front of him. Before Jellal could do something, though, his opponent delivered a powerful, vertical slash to his chest that knocked him back. "Grand Chariot!" The seven beams of light came crashing down, but Knightwalker simply smacked them away. "?! Impossible!"

"When this form is used, I forsake all emotions besides rage. It is the most destructive spear I can wield, and no one has faced it and lived to tell the tale. It is... the Bloodlust Spear: Sacrifar!" Knightwalker then rushed Jellal and delivered a left diagonal slash to his chest.

* * *

Back on the ground, Fuyu, Sting, and Rogue were ready to start fighting the Dorma Anim.

"Let's do this, Sting," Rogue said.

"Don't have to tell _me _twice," Sting said back to him. The younger Dragon Slayers then ran right up to the Dorma Anim.

"Eiryū no Zangeki!" Rogue struck the side of its head with a shadowy punch.

"Hakuryū no Seichū(White Dragon's Holy Elbow)!" Sting delivered a fast and powerful punch to its jaw by shooting light from his elbow.

"The magic-resistant Dorma Anim... is being damaged a little?!" Faust yelled.

"He says that, but we've barely done anything!" Rogue yelled. "In that case..." Sting and Rogue then nodded at each other and activated White and Shadow Drive, respectively.

"Oh, yeah!" Sting yelled, delivering the machine a much more powerful punch than before.

"Ugh!" The king grunted. "In that case..." He started to target Fuyu, "I'll wipe out the one not doing anything! Dragon Rider Missiles!" A multitude of missiles were launched from its back at Fuyu.

"Fuyu-san!"

"This genius is alright!" Fuyu yelled, jumping out of the way as some of the missiles hit the ground. To everyone's surprise, however, the ones that didn't blow up were homing missiles that followed Fuyu as she ran. "Suiryū no Murasame(Water Dragon's Shark Pack)!" Fuyu swiped the air and sent sharks made of water at each of the missiles, destroying them easily.

"Here's some more!" Faust shouted, getting ready to fire.

"As if!" Sting and Rogue shouted, jamming the missile launcher with their kicks.

"Annoying flies!" The Dorma Anim swung its tail and hit Sting and Rogue with it.

"Chibi Slayers!" Fuyu shouted before noticing two more missiles coming at her. She motioned to attack them, but stopped when she saw that they were about to explode. She then jumped back and Requipped what looked like a computer, pressed some keys, and as the explosion went off, it only went into the form of a cube that didn't even touch Fuyu.

"What?!"

"Edolas Magic Tool: 'Melone!' Originally, it could only create barriers around objects, but this genius gave it the ability to 'cube' anything she wants!"

"A magic tool was modified...?!" Faust then got indication that the underside of his machine was being attacked. Turning on a different camera, he saw Sting using his claw attack in multiple areas of the underbelly and Rogue eating the Dorma Anim's shadow. He tried to kick at them, but he suddenly found the machine unable to move.

"I'm full; let's go," Rogue said as he and Sting got out from being under it.

_This is bullshit! So these are mages from Earth Land!_

"Must be pretty tough if Sting-kun had to make more than one stigmata," Fuyu said. "Let's go make a splash."

_These are Dragon Slayers! ...However! That's why I must have them!_ The Dorma Anim then started to turn black; as it did, the stigmata Sting had placed disappeared one after another.

"My stigmata are fading?!" Sting yelled. "What's it doing?!"

_As long as I have them, I can carry out the Anima Project once again! I'll capture those people for the sake of infinite magic... no... they're not humans; they're weapons! It'll be fine if there's a _little _damage, right?! _The machine's color had now become fully black. "First, I shall drain your fighting spirits with the power of Dorma Anim: Black Sky!" The Dorma Anim then fired a large amount of magic bullets from its hands at the three slayers.

"Look out!" Fuyu yelled. They all then ran from the fire, only getting hit a few times. As they ran, though, Sting jumped into the air and started to inhale.

"Hakuryū no Holy Breath!" The Dorma Anim was blasted with a giant burst of light as Sting fell to the ground. When the light cleared, a few of its teeth had been broken and it twitched a little. "Booyah!"

"Impossible...!" Faust yelled. "To receive damage with Black Sky in effect...! You bastard!"

"!" Something about that being said made Sting freeze up. No one really knew it, but right now, he was remembering a very unpleasant day in his life. Taking this chance, Faust fired a beam from his machine's left hand that knocked Sting a good distance away.

"Sting-kun!" Fuyu yelled.

"The hell is that idiot doing?!" Rogue said to himself. He then went into his shadow form and ran up the machine until he reached the right side of its neck. There, he regained tangibility and grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Eiryū no...(Shadow Dragon's...)" Rogue unsheathed his blade and wrapped it in shadows before delivering the mechanical dragon a deep cut, "Jūsan'Ya Sakugen(Waxing Crescent Slash)!" The attack was apparently very effective as a deep cut was made, making oil spill out. This, however, created an unwanted flashback for Rogue, as well. _This is...!_

"Get off, dammit!" Faust yelled as a beam was fired from the neck that blasted Rogue off and to where Sting was. "Accept your powerlessness!" A large blast of magic was then fired from the Dorma Anim's mouth at the two boys.

* * *

Back with Natsu and Gajeel, Baal had gotten up after getting hit by Natsu's roar, and was not happy at all.

"You... bas... taaaaards!" Baal yelled, charging at Natsu and Gajeel with his fullmetal roller, creating a chase scene. "It's you Earth Land mages that I absolutely can't stand! All of you, lording your profits of 'The Great Magic Boom' over us makes me sick!" The bands on the middle arms unfastened, allowing him to throw the discs, though they weren't really hitting anyone.

"'Great Magic Boom?!'" Natsu said as he and Gajeel ran. "That's a term from Earth Land, isn't it?!"

"If we have the technology to spy on you, then the knowledge of what happens wouldn't be strange, right?  
"In the year 0070, two years after the death of Endless, the King of Oblivion, the amount of people who could use magic suddenly skyrocketed for no true reason; in a few short years, what was once a world where magic was nearly exclusive to but one city became a world where nearly everyone was a mage! This went on for 100 years before settling down, and was eventually called 'The Great Magic Boom.'"

"What's that gotta do with you hating us?!" Gajeel asked.

"Because only _you _profited from it! Our two worlds are virtually identical, so why wouldn't _we _receive the same effects of the 'Boom?!' When the 'Boom' was still happening, the dimensional barrier was much weaker, allowing people from our worlds to occasionally travel between them. That means the only explanation is that you Earth Land mages brought a virus to Edolas that stopped us from obtaining infinite magic, found a cure for it, and kept it all to yourselves!"

"We hadn't even heard of Edolas until recently, so inter-dimensional travel couldn't have happened often! This isn't because of a disease" Natsu yelled. It was then that he and Gajeel found themselves against a wall.

"In that case... why have we only been given limited magic?!" Baal charged with his fullmetal roller.

"Tetsuryū no Uroko!" Gajeel yelled, covering his body in steel as he stuck his hands out.

"Karyū no Kyōkaen(Fire Dragon's Mirror Flame)!" Natsu shouted, creating a wall of fire in front of him. Both moves collided with the roller, keeping it in place while it still spun.

"There _must _be an external cause!" Baal yelled, veins popping out of his head and neck. "It's not anything here, though! The water, the air, the ground, the plants... everything was proven to have nothing!  
"Begia! Syrus! Oji! Senashia! Ritodou! Marcus! Cestas! They all worked themselves to death trying to obtain infinite magic for this world! I, as well! Baal Miran Big! I'm a fellow researcher whose consciousness was transferred into a monster so I could keep fighting against this injustice! So humans... so our world could have magic... so we could feel the same joy you of Earth Land do!" Baal then increased the force of his charge, destroying Natsu's barrier and Gajeel's scales, forcing the two of them to use their own natural strength to hold back the roller.

"This all happened hundreds of years ago! It has nothing to do with the current citizens of Earth Land!"

"It does! Even now, you still have a way to maintain infinite magic that we have no knowledge of!"

"Then why don't you try _asking _us how we do it?!" Gajeel yelled. Baal then stopped pressing with his roller.

"That can't be done."

"Yes it can!" Natsu yelled.

"THAT CAN'T BE DONE!" Baal then picked up the roller and smacked the Dragon Slayers with it, damaging them immensely, and covering them in each other's blood. "Something like that can't be done. You and all the other Earth Land mages shall die to become our fuel! You wouldn't be the first, though; before the barrier got too strong, I killed many Earth Land mages, as well. I killed them for the sake of supplying us with infinite magic, but at some point, it became purely out of my own enjoyment."

_He's talking about something completely different now..._ Natsu thought to himself.

"When the barrier got too strong, we merely observed everything you did to see if that would give us a clue, but nothing continued to come up. However, through our observations of Earth Land, I found something even better than magic... Yes... the 'joy of watching you people suffer.'"

"!"

"My interest in magic began to decrease, and I started spending my time just watching you all throw yourselves into despair. The more you agonize, the more I'm flooded with the feeling of ecstasy! It's so fun!"

"The suffering of all of us in Earth Land is 'fun' for you? So you've been laughing at my friend's pain, as well...?"

"HAAAAHAHHAHHAHHAHHA! Your friends?! Look!" He pointed to the monitor with his uppermost right arm. "Before you got here, I saw all of your friends histories on that monitor!"

_He's laughing... _Gajeel thought.

_He's laughing at our friends... _Natsu thought.

"Every single one of them has had such sad faces over such horrible things! A father not showing any love; a mother figure dying so her surrogate son can live; a childhood sweetheart crushing his girl's hopes and dreams like they're nothing; so many parents vanishing or dying, as well! Stuff like that is the greatest entertainment!" Baal then picked up his roller and swung it down at Natsu and Gajeel. "AAAAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HA!" If he wasn't so caught up in his own madness, he wouldn't have missed Natsu activating Dragon Force, Natsu and Gajeel's horrifying faces, _or_ the black glow coming from Natsu's chest and the parts of Gajeel's body that Natsu's blood got splashed on. Before the two could get hit, they jumped into the air while Baal was still in the middle of his swing and attacked Baal with a flurry of punches and kicks, tearing up his body immensely.

"Wha... You... You littlllllllllllle!" Baal swung the fullmetal roller, but his opponents dodged as if it wasn't even there.

"OOOOOOO!" Natsu and Gajeel yelled in unison. Baal then shot the stringy hooves of his middle right arm at the mages.

"Tetsuryūsō: Kishin!" Gajeel shouted, turning his arm into a spearhead and firing spears to destroy half of the hooves.

"Karyū no Kōen!" Natsu shouted, creating a giant, explosive flame to destroy the rest. The two then jumped off the debris to get higher in the air and turned towards Baal. "Karyū no Burning Breath!"

"Tetsuryū no Alchemic Breath(Iron Dragon's Alchemic Breath)!" The two of them fired larger versions of their roars at the Professor, completely decimating his body.

"Your movements..." Baal started, "your power... they're all completely different... How... !" He then took a good look at Natsu and Gajeel and saw two mages filled with complete and utter rage giving off demonic auras.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," they roared in unison, preparing their next assault.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Pie: What do you mean, "TO BE CONTINUED?!" You said this chapter would be the last!**

**Fox: I changed my mind. Next chapter, though, will definitely, possibly be the end.**

**Pie: This guy... this fucking guy...**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	30. Dragon Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (5)

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"What... is this...?" Baal asked, eying his injuries. "I'm... Baal... I've fought and killed every kind of mage from Earth Land. I'm a super-powered citizen of Edolas. So how? How could this happen? What... are those mages? What are they?!"

"UOOOOOOOOO!" Natsu and Gajeel shouted, still full of rage.

"UAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Baal's head then shot off of his body, which then disintegrated, and flew towards the crowd of people in the stands. "Medula! Baal Garllia 02!" The people then all started to glow white as their bodies turned into pure energy and shot at Baal's head, creating a giant flash of light.

_Those people were just magic?! _Gajeel thought.

_What the hell do we gotta deal with, now? _Natsu thought. When the light had faded, Professor Baal Miran Big had taken on a new giant form. His head was structured the same, but it, along with most of his body, was white; his eyes lacked pupils and all of his teeth were pointed. He now had two arms, but his left was a giant steel frame and his right was five black, elongated hooves; attached to each of his shoulders was a face and attached to his back vertically was another steel frame. His lower body was in the shape of a carousel with fourteen horse legs attached by big, black balls.

"You have only _begun _to witness the power of our world's wisdom!" Natsu and Gajeel charged at Baal, but he jumped into the air and dodged. After doing so, the monster fired the steel frame that was his left arm at the mages. "I've got you! With the speed and weight of this steel frame, you'll both be crushed!"

"U... OOOOOOOO!" Gajeel shouted before putting up a guard against the attack. When the momentum faded, it simply fell to the ground.

"Even though it was hundreds of times his size... he stopped it?"

"Slow."

"_Slow?" _As Baal pondered that statement, Natsu suddenly got behind him and blasted him with fire.

"Slow," Natsu said.

_What?! _

"Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka..." The blade of fire formed around Natsu's arm, "Taimatsu(Torch)!" He sent out a giant wave of fire that instantly set Baal ablaze. When the flame subsided, he immediately started running.

"Dr. Syrus!" Baal yelled to the left head. "What exactly is making those two so powerful?"

"It's a power used only under extreme circumstances," Dr. Syrus said. "A sort of 'burning inner strength,' if you would call it such." At that moment, Gajeel jumped up and slashed that head with his sword. "Gyabooooo!"

"Syrus?!" Syrus, however, could not fully comprehend the force that was at play here. For whatever reason, as soon as the black glow appeared, all of Baal's movements had appeared to have gotten extremely slow for Natsu and Gajeel. Since this was working out for them, Gajeel didn't think much of it. Natsu, however, had a theory of what this was at least related to, but that was a separate problem that would be dealt with later.

"Gi..." Baal started. "SHAAAAAAAAAAA!" He then lunged at his opponents with the elongated hooves. Natsu and Gajeel, however, destroyed them all with their blades. Baal then tried to squash them with the steel frame attached to his back, but they jumped out of the way with ease and proceeded to cut him repeatedly. "Gi... IIIIII SHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Spinning blades suddenly shot out of the black balls attached to his feet.

"SLOW!" Natsu and Gajeel shouted, each catching a blade and stopping the rotation. Then, with all of their strength, they lifted Baal up and threw him to the ground.

* * *

Back with Jellal and Erza Knightwalker, the blue-haired mage had been beaten to a bloody pulp by his opponent and was now lying in his own blood with his opponent simply staring at him.

_To think... her rage... could be so powerful..._ Jellal thought to himself. Knightwalker then picked Jellal up by his hair and brought him to the edge of the island. _I... probably won't make it..._ She then let go and watched him fall. As she turned away, though, something seemed to have made contact with her back. When she turned to see what it was, she saw Jellal, having used Bungee Gum to stop his fall, flying at her and delivering a punch to her face. _But I'll keep trying to! _As Knightwalker fell back from the force of the attack, the Ten Commandments reverted back into its default form of Eisenmeteor and fell to the ground.

"Sacrifar's been...!" Knightwalker said.

"Mildeajin Mahō Kenryū: Pondo Hō(Mildean Magic Sword Style: Pound Phoenix)!" Jellal slashed the air with his magic blade and sent a wave of energy at Knightwalker; it landed a direct hit, but she still managed to stand her ground.

"What is...?"

"I've just shot you directly with my magic, with the magic of Earth Land. Feel it. Take it all in. Analyze every aspect of it, and then compare it to the magic _you've _seen. Which feels better?"

"..." Knightwalker fell to her knees and began to cry. "...Your magic..."

"...In your struggle to obtain eternal magic, the magic you were actually capable of took a dark turn; if this kind of magic can last forever, it will only lead to more people suffering. Magic might not be necessary, but you've lost the right to even have it as a plaything." Jellal then activated Meteor and flew off of the island, leaving Knightwalker alone to take in everything that just happened.

* * *

Back with the three Dragon Slayers, it had seemed like Faust had landed a powerful hit on Sting and Rogue, but when the dust cleared, it was revealed that Fuyu had gotten in the way of the blast and protected them.

"Fuyu..." Rogue said.

"Fuyu... san..." Sting said.

"Hey..." Fuyu started, "were you two messing up... because you were remembering what happen to your parents...?" They were both silent.  
Fuyu Navidades devoted most of her spare time researching everything dealing with Dragons and Dragon Slayers. As such, she knew very well that on July 7th., X777, Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney killed their own Dragon parents, the white Dragon Weisslogia and the shadow Dragon Skiadrum. "You little bitches!" She then punched Sting in the face and kicked Rogue in the stomach.

_Fighting amongst themselves, eh? _Faust thought to himself. _Let's see where this goes. _Fuyu then grabbed both boys by their collars.

"What the hell are you doing?! A few things happen to remind you of your past, and you suddenly can't fight your way out of a paper bag?! The two of you decided to kill your parents all on your own, so there's no reason to get upset about it!" The two kids were still silent. "Fine," Fuyu threw them to the ground. "Just sit there like cowards if you want. This genius will finish it herself." Fuyu then turned around and limped towards the Dorma Anim.

"You're going to fight me alone...? ...This is indeed interesting."

"Shut up for me, 'your majesty.'" The Dorma Anim fired more lasers at Fuyu. "Murasame!" Her water sharks managed to intercept the attack, though it took awhile for her to create them.

_Fuyu-san... _Sting thought to himself, _you can barely move right now, can't you?_

"It's useless to resist me!" Faust shouted as a whip-like beam was fired from the machine's mouth that wrapped around Fuyu's arm and exploded.

"Daaaamn!" Fuyu shouted as she ran towards the Dorma Anim before getting blasted.

_Even though Sting and I have the power to help... we're too afraid of our pasts to move, _Rogue thought. _At this rate, though, Fuyu will..._ It was then that the two boys remembered the summer of two years ago, when they first met Fuyu Navidades.

* * *

Through her extensive intelligence network, Fuyu had learned that her idol, Natsu Dragneel, had left the country for training in Mildea. Not wanting to be depressed around her co-workers, she took a few days off and checked into a hotel in the town of Mesquite. Today, she was out taking a walk.

"Natsu-kuuuuuuuuu~~n~~" Fuyu whined aloud, annoying those passing by her. "Why did you have to leave like that? This genius wanted to keep admiring your brilliance from afar~~~~ hey, what's that?!" Her attention immediately became focused on what appeared to be a green cat dressed up as a pink frog eating some ice cream.

"...?" was Frosch's response to Fuyu.

"What are _you?!_"

"...Fro is Fro."

"You talk?!"

"Ye-"

"I've never seen something like you, before! Do you mind if this genius drugs you, takes you home with her, and performs a vivisection on you?!"

"..." Frosch then sprouted wings and flew away as fast as he could.

"WAIT!" Fuyu then started running after the cat. Eventually, she ended up in an alley, but Frosch was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd CatFrog go?" As she pondered this, a hand suddenly appeared from the shadows and grabbed her ankle. "?!"

"Hakuryū no Hōkō!" A voice shouted as a beam of light flew at Fuyu. She, however, dodged with ease and watched it fly into the wall. After that, she managed to pry the hand off of her ankle and move away.

"...You missed," a boy emerging from the shadows said.

"Excuse me for not being perfect, Rogue!" A boy walking into the alley said.

"Hey... are you two Dragon Slayers?!" Fuyu asked.

* * *

After Fuyu asked that, she introduced herself to Sting and Rogue and explained what she was doing. After being forced to promise that she wouldn't cut Frosch open, the two kids invited her back to their house for dinner.

"Hey!" Fuyu yelled. "What are you doing, Sting-kun?!"

"...Making dinner..." Sting responded with a sweat drop.

"You are _not _just going to eat cup ramen!"

"It's what we do every night, though..." Rogue said.

"What?! That's it!" She then grabbed both of their wrists and dragged them out the door. "We're going to the market to buy stuff so I can make you a real meal!" They all then left the house.

"That was unexpected," Lector said.

"Fro thinks so, too," Frosch said. After that, Fuyu started spending a lot of time with Sting and Rogue. She made sure that they ate properly, made sure they were well informed of the happenings of the world, even training them every now and then. At first, the two kids found her constant butting in to be annoying, but they eventually got used to it; eventually, they welcomed her happily; eventually, without anyone realizing it, she had a special place in their hearts. ...We now return to the present.

* * *

Currently, Fuyu was using nearly every ounce of strength she had left to simply stand.

"You've put up a good fight, Dragon Slayer, but this is the end!" Faust said as the Dorma Anim began to charge another mouth blast. Before it could fire, though, something hit its jaw and forced it to close and creating an explosion inside its mouth. "What?!" Fuyu then saw who exactly saved her.

"Sting-kun... Rogue-kun..." She managed to say.

"Fuyu-san!" Sting yelled. "The two of us _are _cowards. We killed our parents out of our own free will, and yet we're still hung up on it."

"However!" Rogue yelled. "The two of us at least have enough courage..."

"To not let our mother be killed by someone like him!" They both shouted. As soon as they did, Sting and Rogue's bodies became clad in a white and shadowy aura, respectively, and an intricate scale-like pattern appeared on their bodies. In short, the two boys both activated Dragon Force.

"Yeah..." Fuyu said, tears rolling down her face, her body becoming covered in scales, too, indicating her own Dragon Force, "let's show this guy the power of our combination!"

"We Dragon Slayers are sustained by willpower!" Sting shouted. "Even when mocked as reckless and crazy!"

"If there's a wall in our way, then we smash it down!" Rogue shouted. "If there isn't a path, then we carve one ourselves!"

"The magma of our soul burns with a mighty flame!" Fuyu shouted. "Super Ultra Combination: Family of Dragon Slayers(A/N: She says the last part in English)!"

"Just who...!" Sting said.

"In the hell...!" Rogue said.

"DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!" Fuyu shouted; somewhere, a volcano was erupting.

"Take this! Dragon Rider's Spreader Cannon!" Faust shouted as his machine fired dozens of blasts from its mouth.

"Get outta here, punk!" Sting and Rogue shouted. At that moment, dozens of lance-like objects made of light and shadows shot out from their bodies and connected with the blasts, destroying them on impact. they then put their fists together and fired a large blast of light and shadows at the machine. "Seieiryū Senga!" In response to this, the Dorma Anim jumped high into the sky and avoided it completely.

"Not good enough, brats!"

"Good enough for a decoy," Sting said with a smirk.

"Give him hell(mom)," Rogue added. Faust's sensors then told him of an extremely large source of magic above him. When he turned on the monitor for that, he saw Fuyu in the air with her hands raised and a giant ball of water floating above them.

"Metsu Ryū Ōgi! Kaijin: Omoi Ame(Dragon Slayer Secret Technique! Sea God: Heavy Rain)!" Fuyu threw the ball of water at the Dorma Anim, knocking it to the ground in an instant and forcing Faust to eject. When he got out of the machine, he took one look at his opponents and fainted.

"We did it!" Fuyu cheered. "Come give this genius a hug!" The water Dragon Slayer then brought the little Dragon Slayers in for a big, warm hug.

"Um... are the islands _supposed _to be falling?" Sting asked as he gazed up at the sky and broke the three-way embrace.

"WHAAAA?!"

"Mystogan must've managed to activate the 'Reverse Anima,'" Rogue said, remembering what had been discussed in Earth Land. "It's a good plan, but the public is going to need a villain to be defeated and calm everyone."

"Hmmm... this genius has an idea! But first..." Fuyu ran at the remains of the Dorma Anim, "help me rip off a few pieces of this so I can take it home!" Sting and Rogue facepalmed. Now, we go back several minutes to when Baal Garllia 02 had been thrown to the ground by Natsu and Gajeel.

* * *

"Stand! Run! Baal!" The head on Baal's right shoulder shouted.

"Dr. Ritodou!" Baal said, getting up. "U... OOOOOOO!" Baal then started to run as Natsu and Gajeel chased him down. "Can I win?! Do you have a plan?! Ritodou?!"

"To push a body past its limits means to bring out power while destroying one's body!" Dr. Ritodou said. "And if their bodies break down, they'll lose all their strength!" Baal then turned towards his opponents and saw that they were getting slower and even occasionally tripping.

"Hah! You're right! They're already crumbling! Like hell we're going to lose to those inferior Earth Land mages!" Baal's entire lower body then morphed into an elongated structure with six legs and a giant steel hammer at the end of it. "There's no way that I, who is a crystallization of Edolas' wisdom..." Baal then charged straight at Natsu and Gajeel, "would ever lose!"

"OOOOOO OOOOO OOO OOOOO!" Natsu and Gajeel roared in unison as they stared Baal down.

"Good! Looks like they want to take me head on! These mages have gone so insane with anger that they haven't realized their bodies are breaking down and they still think they can win, but I've got them! By hardening my cells to be harder than bone, this mallet is truly made of iron! If you hit a mass of iron weighing several tons at this speed head on... you'll truly become minced meat! You'll be blown into pieceeeees!"

"Metsu Ryū Ōgi!" Gajeel shouted, jumping into the air. "Gōma: Tetsu Rasen!" His legs turned into a drill as he spun towards Baal's discarded fullmetal roller and got attached to it.

"Wha... That's... the fullmetal roller I had?! It can't be! You were faking your injuries?! To lure me in?! That's unfair! Weren't you supposed to be in a fit of rage?! Aah... I can't stop it... Shit... These... inferior animals are-!" Natsu then picked up Gajeel and the roller and threw them at Baal. Gajeel then started to spin, thus making the roller spin, and completely tore through Baal's body before crashing into the monitor; Baal Miran Big/Baal Garllia 02 was killed immediately.

"Serves you right, you shitty monster..." Natsu said. Gajeel then got unattached from the fullmetal roller and walked inside the monitor screen to find a small, blue-green Lacrima.

_Must be what we were looking for..._ Gajeel thought to himself. Without a word, Gajeel threw the orb to Natsu. After that, he took out the "USB Lacrima" and plugged it into the blue-green one. After a few minutes, it made a ping that told Natsu it was done transferring the data.

"It's done, Gajeel!" Natsu shouted. His companion then ran over to his side.

"Alright, now let's... hey, that 'glow' is gone..." Natsu looked down at his chest to see that this was indeed true. "Wonder what that was, though? It helped us out like hell, so I ain't gonna pry, but you sure know some weird stuff, 'Salamander.'"

"...Yeah..." _Though, that wasn't my magic in any way, shape, or form. I have a theory of who's magic it was... but that can't be it, can it...? _It was then that the two Dragon Slayers heard something coming from the outside. "The magic must've started to disappear."

"Time for crowd control, then! Geehee!"

"You seem a little _too _happy about the prospect of breaking stuff..." The two of them then ran outside to set their plan into motion, but their jaws dropped when they saw the sight before them.

* * *

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Fuyu laughed as she stood on a building next to the unconscious king whilst wearing a black cape. "My name is the Great Demon Queen, Navidades! This world's magic belongs to me!  
"I have taken down your king! Although I spared his life... for now! GAHAHAHAHAHA! Eucliffe! Cheney! Destroy the city!" Sting then shot beams of light at buildings while Rogue enveloped his katana in shadows and cut them apart.

"What the hell _are _those guys?!" A person observing yelled as they continued to destroy the city.

"Destroy the city even more, my minions!"

"Bring it down a notch, will ya?!" Sting yelled.

"Do ye my bidding, knave!"

"Why are you talking like that?!"

_Can we pick a different mother figure? _Rogue jokingly asked himself.

"They're the ones who took away our magic!" A civilian shouted. "Give it back!"

"No," Fuyu said. She then threw an arm into the air and created a ball of water in it. "Anyone who disobeys me..."

"Stop it! Fuyu!" Mystogan shouted from afar on a balcony, making everyone wonder who that was, exactly.

"I'm the Great Demon Queen, Navidades!" Fuyu yelled, dispelling her magic You think you can stop me, Mr. Prince?"

"'Prince?!'" Someone in the crowd shouted. "Did she say, 'Prince?!'"

"The one who went missing seven years ago... prince Jellal?!" Another person yelled. Mystogan then jumped from his balcony with his fan staff and ran towards Fuyu. As he ran, he pointed his staff at her to try and use his 'Sleep' magic, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong? Are you too _scared _without your magic? Of course you are! Magic is power!" Fuyu's fist then became clad in water as she destroyed the building she stood upon in one punch.

"Isn't she overdoing it?" Rogue asked with a sweat drop.

"It's fine," Sting replied. "Now, the magical 'evil' will be destroyed by the magicless 'hero.'" Now, Fuyu and Mystogan were standing right in front of one another.

"Just stop, Fuyu," Mystogan said. "I cannot become a hero, and your act of being defeated won't fool them." In response to this, Fuyu punched Mystogan in the face.

"Prince!" Someone shouted.

"What a violent person!" Another person exclaimed.

"This is a farce!" Mystogan yelled. "How can we bring the public together like this?!" Mystogan threw another punch, but Fuyu simply caught it. He then dealt her a successful roundhouse kick, earning the cheers of the spectators. However, Fuyu still didn't fall. "Shouldn't you have gone down there?!"

"Like hell!" Fuyu dealt Mystogan a powerful punch to the stomach, earning numerous boos from the crowd. "The Great Demon Queen will never fall from something like that!"

_She's overdoing it! _Fuyu and Mystogan then started trading blow after blow until they eventually did a cross counter. Now _she'll go down, right?_ Nevertheless, Fuyu still stood. _Come on!_ Fuyu then grabbed Mystogan and threw him to the ground.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! This world is now mine!"

_She's overdoing it! _Sting and Rogue thought with facepalms.

"Fuyu..." Mystogan uttered before Fuyu's foot slammed into his head.

"That's NOT my name!" She yelled. "Say my name, bitch!"

"FUYU!" A certain fire Dragon Slayer yelled from afar, making Fuyu turn away.

"Natsu-kun!" She exclaimed with a smile.

"You're overdoing it," Natsu whispered, though Fuyu was able to hear it with her superior hearing.

"..." Suddenly, Fuyu bent her arms back and fell to the ground. "AHHHH! My bone-itis! I was too busy being an evil queen to get it cured! My only regret... is that I have bone-itis!" Her legs then bent behind her head, her left hand grabbed her right ear, and her right arm wrapped itself around her head.

"...She's dead..." Mystogan said. As soon as he did, the crowd erupted in cheers, and it was also at that moment that all of the Exceeds and Earth Land mages were sucked into the "Reverse Anima."

* * *

After returning to Earth Land, the Exceeds said their goodbyes and flew off into the sky. Later, Pantherlily, now much smaller, appeared from the bushes with an apparently not dead Lisanna. When Lisanna finished explaining herself, she immediately ran to her older siblings for a teary reunion. The next day, Lily joined Fairy Tail, and the whole guild had a party to celebrate Lisanna's return. At the same time, the Council was having a meeting in Era consisting of nine of its ten members(one of the new ones was out sick).

* * *

"Now, then," Absoliutus, transformed into an old man for work, began, "if there's no more business that needs to be addressed, I think we'd all like to go-"

"Hold it, Chairman," one of the two new Council members who was replacing "Siegrain" and Ultear interjected.

"...What, Guran Doma-san?"

"I think that we should spend some time discussing the issue of Fairy Tail."

"'Issue?' There's no problem with them."

"Of course there is! Those hooligans cause more property damage in a month than other guilds do in a year, and all you do is give them a slap on the wrist!"

"Should I be doing anything more? They do their jobs, so even if they're stupid, troublemaking, filthy mages, not much can be done to them for something like that. Besides, you know as well as anyone in Fiore that they haven't been causing as much trouble since Natsu-san came back to their guild."

"Not only that, but they _did _destroy a corner of the Balam Alliance," Org added.

"Another point," Guran Doma said. "Even if that 'Guild Alliance' was approved by you, Chairman, the whole event should have been handled by us. Now, other guilds within the Balam Alliance might retaliate against us!"

"Even though it's an 'Alliance,' it's more of a non-aggression pact;" the Chairman said, "no one will lend a hand to someone else."

"I beg to differ! There's proof of the Master of the Oración Seis, Daz Love, having a prior relationship with Grimoire Heart's 'Hades!' Not only that, but Tartaros, whenever they decide to act, always acts in coordination with other Dark Guilds, so they could be apart of this, as well!"

"..." Absoliutus Teisingumas went into his more youthful form. "We'll deal with that when it happens; worrying about it now will be bad for your heart."

"! ...Chairman, with the events of the last few months, the Council should be stricter, but with _you _in charge, we just keep looking like fools! Your idea of 'protecting the magical world' is nothing short of 'you just doing what you want!'"

"Is that your final answer? If it is... then you're right!" The word "Banzai" then appeared in the air. "The only thing that matters is what _I _want to do, and everything _I _want to do always works out for the greater good; if you have a problem, then kindly get the fuck out."

"..."

"That's what I thought."

* * *

Back at Magnolia, the partying and fighting had long since ended. Fuyu had taken Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch back home to Mesquite, and all of the guild members were sleeping off their festivities. At least, everyone except the members of Team Time Jumpers.

"This was the last conflict, right?" Lucy asked Natsu. The man simply nodded in response.

"Now all that's left is Grimoire Heart..." Erza said.

"And Zeref..." Jellal added.

"Yeah..." Natsu said. "Whether or not the result is victory or defeat, it all ends soon. We've all prepared the best we could, so now the only thing we can do... is wait for it to come..."

* * *

**Fox: Who else loved seeing Minerva cry like a little bitch?**

**Pie: That was great.**

**Fox: Yeah. Anywho, next chapter starts Tenrou, and Natsu's two year journey will finally come to a close!**

**Pie: But this fic won't! There's still a ton of stuff that's gonna happen, so stick around!**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! ...Seriously, though, reviewing does help motivate me to write. **


	31. The Training of a Dragon Slayer

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The date was November 24, X784. Five days had passed since the events of Edolas, and things had relatively settled down for the rambunctious guild. Currently, Makarov had requested that all of the guild members meet in the main hall for an important announcement. He was now standing on a wooden stage with Erza, Mira, and Gildarts at his sides.

"You're all probably wondering what this is about, so I'll get straight to it," Makarov said to the guild. "The reason why I've gathered you all is because I am announcing the participants of this year's S-Class Mage Promotion Trial!"

"WHAT?!" A large amount of people shouted.

"I know I usually wait until December, but I've already made up my mind, and I don't think a few extra jobs anyone does will change it." The crowd then started booing him. "Shut up, you brats!"

"_Already made up your mind," eh? Nice cover, old man, _Natsu thought to himself. In truth, Natsu had asked the master to announce the participants early so that that would be over with immediately and he could think of a plan for dealing with Grimoire Heart. _Though, now that I think about it, one of the participants in the first timeline was Doranbolt when he infiltrated the guild, but we're on better terms with the Council in this timeline, so they haven't done that. In that case, who'll be the eight person?_

_Hmmmm~_ Lucy thought to Natsu with a smirk. _Maybe it'll be-_

_No._

_Awwww..._

"The location for this year's Trial is our guild's holy ground, Tenrou Island," Makarov said. "There will be eight participants this time. They are... Natsu Dragneel!"

"Alright!" Natsu shouted.

"You did it, Natsu!" Happy added.

"Gray Fullbuster!" The master said.

"The time's finally come," Gray said with a smirk.

"Juvia Lockser!"

"Eh? Juvia, too?" Juvia asked aloud.

"Elfman Strauss!"

"You gotta be S-Class to be called a man!" Elfman shouted, Lisanna wishing him luck from afar.

"Cana Alberona!" Unlike the other people who were called, Cana remained silent. "Freed Justine!"

"Looks like I'll be taking after Laxus," Freed said.

"Levy McGarden!"

"Finally..." Levy said as Jet and Droy cheered her on.

"And the last participant is... Jellal Fernandes!"

"What, me?" Jellal asked.

"This time, only one will be selected to pass. Get into your best form within these three weeks.

"'One?!'" A random person exclaimed.

"Think Freed's gonna win?" Someone else asked.

"No way! It's gotta be Natsu!" Another person responded.

"Don't forget about Gray and Jellal." Away from that conversation, Gajeel Redfox was watching all of this unfold with a face covered in sweat drops.

"Why wasn't _I _chosen...?" He asked. "Juvia and Jellal got picked, and I've been here as long as them..."

"I guess they've just been doing bigger things than you have," Lily said.

"Not true! I'm doing something big, right now! I can't say what, but it's a big deal!"

"If you say so..."

"There are some newbies here, so we'll explain the rules," Makarov said.

"Within a preliminary period of three weeks, you eight are to select a mage to be your partner," Mira said.

"When selecting your partner, it must be someone in Fairy Tail... and that's it," Erza said.

"You forgot to say that they can't choose us," Gildarts said.

"SHHHHH! If you say that, they'll know!"

"Shouldn't they, Erza?"

"But... I wanted to be partners with my Jellybean..." The guild erupted with laughter while Jellal facepalmed in response to hearing that embarrassing nickname from his wife. "Fine, but I refuse to fight him!"

"You're not allowed to do that, Erza..." Makarov said with a sweat drop.

"Erza's involved this year?!" Someone shouted.

"Mira! Gildarts! My husband is off limits for you two, as well, got it?!"

"Them, too?!"

"Got it..." Mira and Gildarts replied with sweat drops.

* * *

Even though they had three weeks, nearly all the competitors had gotten themselves paired up with someone. Natsu was with his best pal, Happy, Gray was with Loke for unexplained reasons, Juvia was with Lisanna because they were apparently friends in Edolas, Freed was with Bickslow, causing(?) Evergreen to more or less force herself onto Elfman, and Levy was with Gajeel from the latter surprisingly(to some) volunteering to be her partner. The only ones who were still partnerless were Cana, who had left the guild with a depressed look at some point, and Jellal, who was talking to Erza outside.

"You don't want to take part in the exam?!" Erza shouted.

"...That's right," Jellal said. "Don't worry, I'll talk with Makarov so we can come up with an excuse for me to still go to the island; I still intend on helping Natsu-"

"This isn't about that!" Erza interjected. "Why don't you want to be an S-Class mage?"

"I have no desire to be one. I like this guild and the people in it, but being an S-Class mage won't change that in any way. I don't feel right about taking this test when there are other people who would actually have a reason for participating."

"I'm going to tell Makarov my decision." Jellal then turned to head back inside when he bumped into a familiar blue-haired Otaku. "Wendy?"

"Oh! Hi Jellal..." She said to him.

"What are you doing out here, Wendy?" Erza asked.

"There's something I wanted to ask Jellal..." She then turned back to Jellal and got into the dogeza position. "Please let me be your partner for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial!"

"Huh?!" Jellal responded.

"And then, during these three weeks before it starts, please take me under your wing for training!"

"'Training?!'"

"'Training?!'" Natsu shouted as he suddenly ran onto the scene. "I thought _I _was your teacher!"

"Sorry, Natsu," Wendy started, getting up, "but your methods aren't really working. You're just teaching me how to fight, not how to control my magic." An imaginary dagger stabbed Natsu through the heart. "But Jellal can use more kinds of magic than anyone else in the entire guild! If anyone can help me master my magic, it's him!"

"I'm sure Makarov knows more about magic than I do, though," Jellal said.

"Maybe..." Wendy then got a little blush and turned her head, "but I want _you _to help me..."

"This current me still isn't good enough to be useful, and I have to become the 'Wendy Marvell' that won't lose to everyone she fights! So... please help me achieve that goal!"

"..." Jellal was surprised that Wendy was so fixated on receiving assistance from him, specifically, though he just attributed it to their mysterious "bond." Ever since the Nirvana incident, the two of them had a closeness with one another that neither could fully describe, but it definitely went beyond the standard bond that guildmates had for one another. So, perhaps by doing this, Jellal could finally label their "bond." Though, more than that, he simply couldn't find a way to turn her down. "We start tomorrow at dawn." Wendy smiled and gave Jellal a hug.

* * *

Later that night, at Natsu's house, while the feline resident slept, the Dragon Slayer had seven Communications Lacrima in front of him, each with a different face on it.

"I'm glad you all found the time to join me," Natsu said. "You're all busy people, so I'll cut to the chase right away. Let's talk... about Grimoire Heart."

* * *

The next day, at the break of dawn, Wendy, with Carla beside her by demand, were heading up to the mountains for Wendy to begin her training with Jellal. For this training session, Wendy wore a light yellow shirt, a turquoise, short-sleeved half jacket, brown, fingerless gloves, and black pants with a three-rowed brown patch on each thigh.

"I'm not gonna ask what that's from..." Carla said with a sweat drop as they walked.

"Good; only a hardcore Otaku like me would know which JoJo wore this," Wendy said.

"You're taking too much pride in that 'occupation.'" Wendy stuck her tongue out and pulled down one of her bottom eyelids. Carla's response to this was chopping her on the head.

"I see your routine is the same as ever," a mage standing against a rock said.

"Jellal!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Are you ready to start?"

"Yes!"

"Good. First, we have to work improve the way that you power up."

"Huh?"

"I mean the way you take in magic to replenish yourself."

"What can be done with that, though?" Carla asked. "She eats the air, and that's as far as it goes."

"Or so you _think! _But that 'eating of the air' is essentially breathing, isn't it?"

"No..." Wendy started, "though... something _did _happen when I was breathing a lot against that octopus guy."

"Tell me."

"Oh you'll find out! I'm about to summon it!"

"...I'll get to it, now..." Wendy then started breathing in and out very rapidly until, suddenly, a ball of wind appeared in front of her. "This thing showed up, but I'm not really sure why..." The ball then vanished.

"I'll tell you why: it's because my theory was right! The key to accessing your true power is your breathing!"

"So I just need to breathe a lot?"

"No; doing what you just did will take up too much time. What you need to do is be able to make something like that bubble in one breath. What you need to do... is make your breathing surpass humanity's breathing."

"'Surpass... humanity's breathing?'" As Wendy pondered this, Jellal suddenly punched Wendy in the stomach with tremendous force, causing her to fall.

"Wendy!" Carla shouted as she ran to her friend. "Are you alright?!" She then glared at Jellal. "What the hell are you doing, Jellal?!" The blue-haired girl then got up from the ground, albeit very weakly. "Wendy?"

"My magic... what did you..."

"I used a Mildean spell known as 'Flesh Vacuum,'" Jellal said. "With it, any mage of the 'Wind' alignment will have a large portion of their magic drained from their body. Like this, the first part of your training can be done effectively."

"My... training?"

"You are to sit on the ground and simply breathe; nothing more, nothing less. You will do this until you are able to breathe in a way that replenishes yourself in the same manner as eating air does." He then took out a green band and tied it around Wendy's wrist. "This band reacts to the 'Wind' alignment. When your magic increases, it will snap, and this portion of your training will be done. Also, don't try to just eat the air; I'll be watching you extensively and will be able to tell."

"Are you serious?!" Carla shouted.

"Also, you aren't allowed to sleep. Sleeping will instantly make you recover, so you must stay awake throughout all of this. Also, when I feel that you're starting to regain magic due to the Ethernano in the air, I'll use 'Flesh Vacuum' on you, again."

"What?!"

"Finally, you will only eat and drink Ethernano-less products that I give you. If, after all of this, you can't breathe in a way that surpasses regular breathing, I will not allow you to come to the island."

"WHAT?!"

"...I understand..." Wendy said as she sat down with her legs crossed.

"Wendy! Don't you understand what's going to happen in three weeks?!"

"Of course I do! The current me, however, can't be useful at all, so even if Jellal's methods are a bit cruel, I'll put up with them. If I still can't grow after all of this, then I don't have the right to pretend like I'm of help to anyone."

"..." Carla then turned back to Jellal. "You won't really leave her here if her breathing can't reach that level, right...? This is only the first day... after you scare her into truly trying hard, you'll do something easier, right?" Jellal simply looked at Wendy with a cold, emotionless expression. _His eyes... It's like he's looking at a pig that's about to be slaughtered... What cold eyes._ Jellal then sat down in front of Wendy with his legs crossed, as well.

"Don't disappoint me, Wendy," Jellal said.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	32. Ready and Sky Dragon Magic Master Wendy

**Fox: Did you notice that the amount of reviews per chapter we've been getting has dropped all of a sudden?**

**Pie: Yeah. Weird, right?**

**Fox: Yeah... I'm sad.**

**Pie: Yare yare.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The secret to sky Dragon Slaying is breathing! By mastering one's breath, a sky Dragon Slayer is able to reach his or her maximum potential! For this reason, Wendy Marvell has taken up Jellal's special breathing exercises so she can finally be an asset in battle!

Even though this was the goal, the method of training is cruel and harsh. She cannot sleep, can only eat and drink what's given to her, and if her magic starts to return to her in a way outside of her breathing, she gets hit by the "Flesh Vacuum," a powerful move that instantly drains her strength! After 28 hours, Wendy started to occasionally fall down onto the dirt. After 55 hours, she needed to be put up against a tree. After 61 hours, Wendy's eyes became glazed over, she stopped responding to the voices of others, and she started to occasionally cough up blood.

"Isn't this enough?!" Carla shouted. "It looks like she could die at this rate!"

"..." was Jellal's response, angering Carla immensely. In truth, though, Jellal wanted to stop all of this right then and there! For some reason, seeing Wendy in so much pain was causing him tremendous sorrow! However! This girl, whose relationship with him still lacked a label, needed to become stronger, so Jellal would do anything he could to help her accomplish that goal! And now, we take a look inside of Wendy's mind!

* * *

_...It's too hard,_ Wendy thought to herself, making a mental image of herself in her mind. _I've been doing this for so long, but I've been getting no results at all. What the hell was I thinking? Someone like me becoming strong? There's no way. It's impossible. Trying to change that is pointless._  
_I'm just a normal mage foolishly trying to meet the outlandish standards set by Fairy Tail. I should've just ignored everything and let the rest of them handle the fighting._

_So that's how it is, huh?_ Another mental image of Wendy that suddenly appeared in front of the first one asked. _Yeah, I'm talking to you. It's question-and-answer time. It's an important question, so listen up, okay? And I want an answer. Ready?_

_..._

_Then let's take the quiz. Don't you want to be able to protect those you care about?_

_..._

_Think about it, then give me your answer._

_..._

_C'mon. Go ahead and say it. Ever since you joined Fairy Tail, you've been put in all sorts of life-and-death situations. You always come home with a limp or a bloodied face, but your friends, who ended up protecting you, always got the truly worst of it. And none of that makes you want to protect them? Is that what you think? You don't want to. You just want to feel safe, even if your friends get hurt. You want to know that you'll be able to read your manga in peace, even if someone else almost dies so you're able to. Hmph! Is that right? If you're having trouble following this, let me spell it out: You just want to make sure _your _safety is assured._

_..._

_Uh-huh. That's pretty much how it is. Be honest with yourself. You have no desire to fight. You know how strong your guildmates are, so you just want them to protect you. You never learned how to fight, so doing it now is just a huge pain in the ass! There's no way you could enjoy fighting, is there?! You can't deny it, so don't even try!_

_..._

_So explain this: why'd you ask Jellal to train you? Even though you could have had a calm, peaceful life by doing nothing, you rejected that path. Why'd you do it? Weren't _you _the one always whining about it? You were always crying about how useless you were in a fight. If that's the case, then who cares about any kind of training program; you should've accepted your weakness! But you had to go throw away a secure life by asking him to train you. Why is that? _Suddenly, the first mental image of Wendy was sitting at a high school student's desk. Then, the second mental image of Wendy put her foot against the back of the first Wendy's head and used it to slam her head into the desk, face first.

_Quiz time is over! Time to answer the question! _The second Wendy shouted. _Don't you hate the fact that you've been so incredibly weak up until now so much that you want to be strong enough to protect your friends?! Spit it out! _There was silence for a brief moment, but then, for the first time in a while, the first Wendy decided to speak.

_Yeah, of course I do! _The first Wendy shouted. She then slammed her hands against the desk and started pushing against the weight of the second figment. _Of course I want to protect them... with all of my heart and soul! Don't go asking me stupid questions... that are so... OBVIOUS!_ The second Wendy was then thrown off and vanished in a flash of light. _You'd have to be _crazy _to think I wouldn't want that. Only the biggest coward in the world would say they wouldn't want to if they were asked; they'd be thirty times more chicken than Usopp. No matter what I do, no matter where I go, someone gets hurt, and I end up unable to prevent it. But if I could get stronger, then no one would get hurt while I'm around. And then, _I _could be the hero who saves the day! And then, _I _could be the one someone thanks for protecting them, instead of the other way around! How could I _not _want all of that, huh?! Ask me as many times as you want, and my answer won't change: of course I do._

* * *

Back in reality, Wendy's eyes suddenly regained life!

"Wendy!" Carla exclaimed as she ran over to her. Before she could make contact, though, Wendy stuck out her hand to have her feline companion stop. "Huh?"

"COOOOOOOOOO..." Wendy said as she inhaled. As she did, a powerful gale seemed to be forming around her body. When the girl exhaled, the green band around her wrist snapped almost immediately, indicating that Wendy restored her magic with just one simple breath! After 61 hours and nine minutes, Wendy passed her first training exercise!

"I knew you could do it, Wendy," Jellal said with a smile, after which, Carla threw a rock at his face.

"Do you know how worried I was during all of this, you son of a bitch?!" Carla yelled.

"My apologies. If I went soft, I knew Wendy wouldn't have received the best results. Believe me, though, this was hard for me, as well."

"It's alright, Jellal," Wendy said,standing up from the ground. "Thanks to that style of training, I'm finally ready to become the mage I know I can be!"

"Good. Now, get some rest; we'll start the truly hard work in the morning. We only have around seventeen days, so we have to work hard."

"OH NO(A/N: Wendy shouts this in English)! The phrase I hate the most is 'hard work,' and my second most hated is 'work hard!'"

"This was your idea, dammit!" Carla yelled.

* * *

After that, Wendy's grueling training continued. Jellal had her do seemingly crazy things for her training, like breathe ten times in one second, inhale for ten minutes straight, and exhale for ten minutes straight. It all seemed bizarre, but everyone there could feel her getting stronger.

"Breathing." By just training her breathing, her strength and magic will naturally increase... everything in the "Breathing Method" lies in the breathing rhythm. At some point, the day of departure arrives.

* * *

On December 15th., X784, the participants of the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial and Makarov Dreyar had gathered at Hargeon Port to head to Tenrou Island. At least, most of them were.

"Jellal and Wendy are late..." Natsu said.

"Yeah..." Gray said as he took his clothes off. "Well, let's get going, then!"

"We're gonna wait for them!" Lucy, who had decided to become Cana's partner, shouted. "And keep your clothes on!" It was then that everyone suddenly heard screaming. Turning to the direction of it, they saw a woman getting mugged by some punk with a knife. After he managed to pry away a necklace with a red jewel from her neck and started to run, nearly every Fairy Tail mage geared up to help before he bumped into a familiar blue-haired girl.

"Huh?" The mugger said.

"Wendy?!" Multiple Fairy Tail mages shouted. There were two odd things about the Wendy they all saw: her outfit and her actual body. She wore a tight, sleeveless, black shirt that showed off her midriff, black gloves, black boots that each covered half of her shins, blue jeans, a long, green scarf, and a long bandana with a pattern of orange and purple triangles. Everyone figured that that was another one of the Otaku's cosplays, but what really struck them as odd was that, if they looked closely, her body was covered in cuts of all sizes.

"What's with this girl...? Her body is all covered in wounds..."

"Stab me with that knife..." Wendy said to the mugger.

"Huh?"

"Huh?!" The Fairy Tail mages exclaimed.

"Come on! Slice me up with that knife!" Wendy yelled.

"Sure," The mugger said. He then thrusted his knife at her, but Wendy simply put her index finger out in front of her and formed a small ball of wind around it. The tip of the knife hit the ball and got stuck, so when Wendy moved her arm, the mugger was pulled along with it. "Wha?! What is this?! She stopped it with her finger! I can't stab her _or _pull the knife back!"

"You like flying?" A much larger ball of wind then flew into the mugger's stomach, making him drop the necklace. It then lifted him high into the air, moved over the ocean, and vanished, making him fall into the water. "Well... I don't mean anything by it... I'm just messin' with you. You can go now, punk." The mugger then started to swim away as fast as they could. Wendy then picked up the necklace and returned it to the woman, and it was then that she saw all of her guildmates. "I found them, Jellal!" Jellal, already in his battle suit, then appeared next to Wendy by using "Descorrer."

"Well, let's not hold them up, any longer," Jellal said with a smirk. The two of them then started to walk towards the boat and their guildmates who all had faces that said, "What the hell is going on?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I have no interest in ordinary readers. If there are any big fans, newcomers, avid readers, or good critics here, come review this chapter, or any chapter of this story that you want. That is all.**

**Pie: Once again, yare yare.**


	33. Who's the Lucky One?

**Fox: Sorry for not updating in a while; I've been busy with school, and scholarship stuff, and driving stuff, and-**

**Pie: And reading **_**Umineko.**_

**Fox: HEY! ...I was doing that...**

**Pie: Stop letting stuff like that distract you.**

**Fox: But Umineko's really good! Don't you just **_**love **_**how Rosa's the best mom ever?**

**Pie: ...Let's just get this over with.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _Wendy was able to make her breathing surpass humanity's and utilize it for a fight. Now, it is the day of the S-Class exam, and all the participants were on their way to the island via boat. Natsu was vomiting into the sea because Wendy refused to cast Troia, and nearly everyone else had stripped down into their bathing suits. Two exceptions to this, however, were Jellal, who was sitting in the middle of the deck with his eyes closed, focused on meditation, and Wendy, who was also too focused to notice the heat, but on something a little more... trivial.

"What do you mean you pooped yourself to death?!" The little Otaku yelled to a small device in her hand before throwing it against the deck. "Fucking Tamagotchi!"

"...Sounds stressful," Jellal said, opening one eye.

"Yeah. Wonder how the other one's doing?" She then pulled out a device identical to the previous one and stared at it in disbelief. "What? No! Don't eat your own babies! That's not food, Tamagotchi! It's just not food! ...And now you're dead, too!" Wendy then threw the other one against the deck and started to read the first omnibus for _Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch._

_It's _really _weird that this girl is a source of comedy..._ is what nearly everyone was thinking. It was around then that their destination, Tenrou Island, came into view.

"It's said that fairies used to live on this island," Makarov said, suddenly appearing. "Not only that, but the first Master, Mavis Vermillion, also rests here."

"What's with that outfit?!" Gray yelled, noticing his summertime attire.

"It's hot."

"Is that something a naked person should get annoyed by?" Lucy asked.

"I will now announce the details of the first exam," Makarov said. "You see smoke rising from that beach, right? First, head there. There are eight paths there; only one group can take each path, and here's what waits for you behind each path." A magic picture then materialized next to Makarov. It showed the eight paths that they would be taking and also that two pairs of paths were connected and labeled as "Battle" routes, one was a "Quiet" route, and three had pictures of Erza, Gildarts, and Mirajane and were labeled as "Hard Battle" routes(though Mira's had a question mark in it). "Only the teams who make it through these eight paths will pass the first exam!  
"In the 'Battle Routes,' two teams will meet up, and only the winning team will be able to proceed. In the 'Hard Battle Routes,' a team will be faced with a difficult battle against an S-Class mage in order to proceed. Finally, the 'Quiet Route' is free of any fighting and is an automatic pass. In other words, the first exam is testing 'power' and 'luck!'" A few people were a tad dumbfounded from hearing that their "luck" would be tested. "Now, let's begin!" When Makarov shouted this, the boat suddenly stopped moving.

"Aren't we... still in the ocean?" Loke asked. The old man's response was nothing but a simple grin.

"Alright, Happy!" Natsu shouted as his cat lifted him into the air. "Let's choose our path, first!"

_That simpleton, _Freed thought to himself. _He doesn't even realize that I've set up an enchantment around-_ It was then that everyone noticed a glowing light around Natsu's fists as he put them out in front of himself, apparently punching through a wall. _What?!_

"A barrier?!" Cana shouted. "How did Natsu break it?!"

"I've gotten better at my Jutsu Shiki since October!" Natsu shouted as he flew towards the island.

"It's amazing what you can do when you actually practice," Happy said.

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Don't make me remind you how you're getting there the hard way."

"Aye..." It was then that they had gotten out of sight and earshot.

"A bit annoying..." Gray started, "but now we got a way off!" He then tried to jump through the hole Natsu had made, but soon found himself crashing into the wall.

"Too bad I repaired the damage!" Freed said to the angry crowd as he and Bickslow flew towards Tenrou. "Relax! It'll wear off in five minutes!" The two of them were soon out of sight.

"Is this really fair, gramps?!"

"It's not a race, so..." Makarov said as he fanned himself.

"You're playing in the ocean now, you freshwater fishes," Wendy said, confusing those who listened to her.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Levy said as she waved some sort of pen near the barrier. "I can rewrite this easily!"

"Yay!" Multiple people cheered.

"But... only for me and Gajeel!" She and her partner then jumped into the water.

"Boo!" Multiple people shouted.

"A bold move," Wendy started, "but you're about to be eaten alive, my little guppy friends." It was then that Evergreen rewrote some runes herself, allowing her and Elfman to jump off. "FUCK YOU!"

"That'll do, girl. That'll do," Jellal said as he placed a hand on her shoulder and used Descorrer to teleport them off the boat.

* * *

The team of Jellal and Wendy were now on the island and heading for the paths, the one taking the exam having a very serious look on his face.

"I can feel incredible magic coming from here..." Jellal said.

"Me too," Wendy said. "It's the same feeling you get the first time you go to Comiket."

"...I'd probably have to go there to understand that."

"Are you saying you want to go?!" Wendy asked with sparkles in her eyes.

"Sure."

"Jellal! Will you be my best friend?!"

"Huh?"

"We have so much in common."

"...I'll get back to you on that."

"Ugū!" Wendy looked like she was about to cry, but then Jellal gave her some taiyaki, and she started to smile again.

_Sorry, Wendy, but I'm not entirely sure if our relationship is merely that of friends, and you probably know it, too. _It was then that they came across the eight paths and saw that the "A," "B," "E," and "F" paths had already been taken. "I wonder which one we should take?"

"That one!" Wendy shouted, pointing to the "H" path.

"Why that one?"

"Because of what 'H' stands for!"

"'What H stands for?'" They both just stood there for about a second before Jellal bonked Wendy on the top of her head.

"OW!"

"A little girl shouldn't have such a dirty mind." He then walked into the "H" path with Wendy close behind him.

"How do you spell 'HERO?' Ecchi and ero!" Wendy said in a sing-songy manner. Jellal then glared at her, making her to stop.

* * *

Eventually, Jellal and Wendy reached the end of the path and spotted a banner that said "Battle;" since no one else was there yet, they had no choice but to wait for their opponents to show up. A few minutes later, they did, though Jellal wasn't so pleased with the matchup.

"...Anyone else would've been fine, but _this guy..._?"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I also apologize for this chapter being so short.**

**Pie: What's your reason for this?**

**Fox: The Small Bombs did it!**

**Pie: ...Shut up.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	34. All Off the Chest

**Fox: Before we start, I would like to call attention to the recently written crack fic entitled **_**Giraffes, Bears, and Periods Oh My!**_** by omnidestruction5678. It is, without a doubt, the funniest Fairy Tail fanfic ever written in the history of hilarious Fairy Tail fanfics, and once you finish this chapter, you should read it and prepare to laugh your ass of, slap your knees, have your funny bones tickled, and suffocate from the lack of oxygen created due to all the chuckling! That's how funny it is! On that note, I present you with this chapter.**

**Pie: 'Bout time.**

**Fox: Shut up.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Eventually, Jellal and Wendy reached the end of the path and spotted a banner that said "Battle;" since no one else was there yet, they had no choice but to wait for their opponents to show up. A few minutes later, they did, though Jellal wasn't so pleased with the matchup.

"...Anyone else would've been fine, but _this guy_...?" Jellal uttered.

"I don't got a problem with it," Jellal's opponent said with a smirk.

"Double Shock!" Wendy exclaimed in gratuitous English. "This is more extraordinary than meeting a ghost... Gray! And Loke, his partner for the exam, are here, right in front of my eyes!"

"Why is she talking so dramatically?" Loke asked.

"Just ignore it," Gray said while taking off his shirt. "There's more important stuff to worry about right now!" He then slammed his hands on the ground and created an ice wall that reached the ceiling and separated him and Jellal from Loke and Wendy.

"You wanna go one-on-one, then?" Jellal asked.

"You better believe it!"

* * *

"I guess we're supposed to fight alone, then," Loke said. Wendy provided silence for a response as she slowly walked towards the Celestial Spirit, making him put up a guard. _She may just be a kid, but Wendy's a Dragon Slayer trained by both Natsu and Jellal, two of the strongest mages in the continent! I can't let my guard down!_ Before he knew it, though, Wendy was right in front of him. She stuck out her left hand, gently touched the tip of Loke's nose, and suddenly jumped back.

"Touch'd ya!" Wendy exclaimed.

"...Huh?" Loke asked with a perplexed look.

"This is our first time meeting as fellow fighters, right? HELLO(A/N: This is said in English)! How ya doin'?! Happy, joy-py, nice to meet you-py! Happy! Joy-py! Nice to meet you-py! You, too, Loke-san... three, two... Happy! Joy-py! Nice to meet you-py!" While Wendy was saying all of this, she was waving her arms and moving her body in a very comedic fashion.

"Wendy, what the hell are you doing?"

"Just having a little fun, is all."

"'Fun?'" Loke brought his hand to his face. "Look, Wendy, it's plainly obvious that you don't really have an interest in fighting, so why don't we just sit down and wait for the other guys to-!" Loke was stopped in the middle of his question when he saw the dangerous face Wendy said.

"Please believe me, Loke-san, when I say that no one on this island wants to fight as badly as I do. On that note, don't even think about telling me not to fight!"

"...Alright, then!" Loke then ran at Wendy and delivered a punch, but Wendy ducked and gave Loke an uppercut. She then backed up and threw her right arm out in front. What is she- Before that thought could be finished, Loke found himself being punched in the face and knocked back despite Wendy not being in range to make that happen. "What was that?!"

"Jinkō Tenryū no Zoom Punch(Artificial Sky Dragon's Zoom Punch)! Using my breathing, I create wind inside of my arm to separate my joints and extend my arm, and more breathing is used to dampen the pain that would normally be caused by this!"

"That's crazy!"

"I'd prefer to call it 'bizarre.'" Wendy then used another Zoom Punch, but Loke managed to dodge this time and blast her with a small beam of light.

"When it comes down to it, that's just a regular long-ranged attack; nothing to truly be concerned about!" Loke then fired two more identical beams at Wendy with her only being able to dodge one while getting hit by the other. As she regained her balance, Loke rushed her and delivered a powerful punch covered in light to her stomach that knocked her into a wall; Wendy, however, managed to leap back in time to avoid a critical blow. After regaining her composure, she brought her arm back as wind formed around her fist.

"Tenryū no...(Sky Dragon's...)"

_Wind's forming around her fist... she must be using her Breakdown Fist! Now that I know what it is, I'll be able to dodge!_  
_From what I've heard, all of her regular attacks are just copies of what she's seen Natsu and Gajeel do; that means that I know every one of her moves already! So go ahead, you little Anime nut, use your Breakdown Fist so I can avoid it with ease!_

"Funryū Kenjū(Jet Pistol)!"

"?!" Wendy then punched the air and fired a small, but incredibly fast, linear blast of wind at Loke that made contact with him almost instantaneously. What in the world?!

"Tenryū no Kagidzume!" Before Loke knew it, Wendy had gotten in front of him and launched a blast of wind from her foot that sent him into a wall.

"That attack from before... I heard that all of your moves were just copies of Natsu's and Gajeel's, but neither of them have some kind of 'pistol' attack...!"

"You're right; I didn't get that attack from them. I got it... from someone more important..." It is here that Wendy remembers a certain day of her training with Jellal.

* * *

"Tenryū no Hōkō!" Wendy shouted, firing a blast of wind from her mouth at Jellal.

"Meteor!" Jellal exclaimed, his body becoming enveloped in light, allowing him to dodge the attack. As he flew around, Wendy fired blast after blast of wind, but none of them could connect.

_Come on! I know he's fast, but I should be able to get one hit in!_ As Wendy thought this, wind began to form around her fist. _Just one... just one..._ She then punched the air and released a linear blast of wind that managed to hit Jellal and knock him out of the air. "I did it!"

"That was impressive," Jellal said, getting up. "I didn't think you'd be able to hit me."

"Yeah! My jet pistol's faster than you thought, huh?! ...Huh?"

"What?"

"I've never used that before... never seen that before... how could I call it by a certain name?" A memory then played out in Wendy's mind from nowhere. Her as a little girl was there, and she saw a blue-haired woman doing the same move. "...Mother..."

"I remember... that was my mother's move... a sky Dragon Slayer's move...!" We now return to the present.

* * *

_From that moment on, I worked on recollecting everything involving my mom fighting,_ Wendy thought to herself. _Because of that, I'm now able to use what Grandeeney never taught me; the moves of a Dragon Slayer!_

"I gotta hand it to you, Wendy, you're stronger than I was giving you credit for initially," Loke said. "I'm still going to win, but now..." He then changed into his Celestial Spirit appearance, "I'm going to do it at full force!" Loke then bent his right arm and pointed it towards the ceiling while grabbing his bicep with his left hand. "O Regulus... Grant me your strength! Regulus Impact!" Loke fired a blast of light from his hand in the shape of a lion at Wendy. His opponent, however, merely stood there breathing as it hit and exploded into light. When the light faded, Wendy was still standing, albeit a little injured. "No way..."

"That was a powerful attack, Loke-san; it completely destroyed the wall of wind I put up as a guard and managed to hit me. I could've dodged it, but I felt that it wouldn't have been right to dodge your last attack..."

"My... 'last attack...?'"

"COOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wendy said as she inhaled. "Jinkō Tenryū no...(Artificial Sky Dragon's...)," She then punched the ground in front of her, "Sendō Hamon Overdrive(Sendō Ripple Overdrive)!" A vibration in the ground formed under Wendy's fist that began to travel towards Loke. When it got under his feet, a twister suddenly shot up from the ground, blasting him into the ceiling. As Loke fell, he managed to land on his feet and looked like he was going to do something, but then fell onto his back with a smile.

"Heh! That's enough, for me; I know when I'm beat! Nice going, Wendy!"

"Thank you, Loke-san!" Wendy said with a smile, as well. _Now then... how are things with Jellal and Gray-san?_

* * *

On the other side of the wall, the fight between Gray and Jellal was nearing its conclusion. Both of their bodies bore signs of damage, but Gray was clearly more beaten up than Jellal.

"I think it's obvious by now who the victor is; care to stop?" Jellal asked.

"No!" Gray yelled. "I'm not done with you, yet, Jellal!" He then materialized his Ice Cannon and fired a blast of ice at Jellal, but he activated Meteor and dodged.

_This is why I didn't want to fight Gray; he just won't let go already._ Jellal knew all too well that Gray was infatuated with his wife, so he knew that their fight was going on as long as it was merely because of a broken heart. Jellal found all of that entirely juvenile. _Gray had eight years to win over Erza and did nothing about it, so he shouldn't be mad now that she and I are married,_ is what Jellal thought. He then went down to the ground and kicked Gray, but the body he kicked suddenly shattered. _An ice clone?!_ He then quickly turned around to see Gray preparing an attack.

"Ice Make: Gungnir!"

"Reiki Kyūtai(Aura Sphere)!" Jellal was knocked into the ceiling by a giant spear of ice while Gray was blasted by a small, blue ball of energy. After the initial hit, Jellal used some fire magic to melt the tip of the spear and jump down. The two opponents then simply stared at each other in silence before Gray started to talk.

"You know, I never really liked you, Jellal."

"Really? I had no idea," he said, sarcastically.

"But I think what I really didn't like about you was the fact that Erza liked you."

"Gasp! This is so unexpected!" _And by unexpected, I mean completely expected._

"So when you two got... married, I felt awful inside, but I never had a chance to get all of that off my chest. Now, though, from that last attack, I think I did."

"And?"

"And... I give up. Can't beat you in this fight... or in love, apparently." When Gray said that, the exit opened up and the ice wall melted. The ice mage then walked up to Jellal and offered him his hand. "Might be a little late, but how 'bout we be friends?"

"Hmph." Jellal then grabbed his opponent's hand and started to shake it with a smile.. "Why not, pal?" And so, Gray had finally gotten over Erza and formed a friendship with Jellal. That friendship, and the rest of the friendships shared between those of Fairy Tail, would all be of dire necessity in the upcoming battles.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Wendy: FAIRY CHANNEL! That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! Okay! Today's another whoo-whoo episode of Fairy Channel! I'm your navigator, Wendy Marvell. And...**

**Fox: Uh. I'm Wendy's assistant, FoxOnPie. It's a pleasure.**

**Wendy: Okay, okay. The two of us have now done this... ta-da! Three times after today! How do you feel about it, Mr. Fox? Have you gotten used to it?**

**Fox: Well... not yet... so sorry.**

**Wendy: It feels like Mr. Fox hasn't opened up to me yet. And it looks like we're sitting further apart than usual.**

**Fox: Eh?**

**Wendy: Is this what they mean by emotional distance? Sob.**

**Fox: Th-th-that's not true!*Moves chair closer to Wendy***

**Wendy: Shuffle.*Moves chair farther away from Fox* Okay! Let's get rollin'! Um... we've got something the fans will love today! Guess what? We'll be doing our first introduction for members of our fanbase! Da-da-da-dum!**

**Fox: Okay, uh... we'll be introducing all the people who decided to favorite and follow since the last update.**

**Wendy: Let's see... Sanasuke, I.K.A. Valian, Pru...**

**Fox: Prusyah.**

**Wendy: Prusyah, shiro-cero, NNeko, and xKishii. In total, six people. Mr. Fox, are you happy about this increase in popularity?**

**Fox: But of course! It's so wonderful, yeah? With all the competition, you'd expect it to be hard to get noticed, but it's actually quite easy.**

**Wendy(In deep voice): I wish you'd write as much as you talk...**

**Fox: Eh?**

**Wendy: You can't stop talking when it's about your fans.**

**Fox: No! That's not it...**

**Wendy: Well, yeah. Your fanbase increased by six, right?*Starts tapping foot* They like your pretty little plot. With anime references. And various other attractions.*Stops tapping foot* Aren't you so lucky to be noticed by a few people?**

**Fox: Wendy, that's a little...**

**Wendy: The maniacs love you.**

**Fox: Uh, "maniacs" is a little...**

**Wendy: But you know... if it's maniacs you want, I'm a huge hit with those pedophiles...*The theme music goes off***

**Wendy(In her normal voice): Too bad! It's time to say goodbye! And so... send us any questions or comments about the story please!**

**Fox: Please look forward to next time.**

**Wendy: See ya!*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): So are those fans nice people?**

**Fox: I'd assume so.**

**Wendy: No way! They probably smoke a pack at a time when no one's around.**

**Fox: No worry of that; they're not you.*Screen fades to black***

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	35. The Fated Reunion

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

While the various mages of Fairy Tail went on with their exam, two cats were steadily approaching Tenrou Island.

"There's the island," Carla said as she and Lily flew in the air.

"You sure it was a good idea to come here?" Lily asked.

"It's fine; we're just watching, after all."

"You're worried about Wendy."

"I was completely against this, but she just...!" The black Exceed just smirked at Carla's reaction. "I just have a bad feeling about this exam, okay?"

"That prognostication ability of yours?"

"It's too fragmentary for me to say anything for sure." _Also, I already know what that vision I had last week is supposed to mean thanks to Natsu, so there's no need to be overly concerned about it. Still, though..._

* * *

"Alright! First exam complete!" Wendy exclaimed as she and Jellal walked down their path towards the exit after defeating the team of Gray and Loke.

"If Natsu or Freed got knocked out here, it'll make the road ahead much smoother," Jellal said.

"Don't forget about Cana-san." After a few seconds, they both started laughing at the prospect of her being a threat.

* * *

"Achoo!" Cana sneezed. _Who's talkin' smack about me?!_

* * *

"That was a funny joke, Wendy," Jellal said, still chuckling a little.

"Yeah," Wendy replied. "But seriously, Jellal, the road to S-Class isn't smooth at all, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Besides, this was only the first part! We still gotta cook pigs, make sushi, find Spiral Eggs, get out of Trick Tower, steal a plate from a gay clown, and fight a bald ninja!"

"...Yes. Those are things we have to do." Wendy smiled and ran ahead. _When she starts making all those references, it's best to just play along. _The two of them then reached the exit and joined the teams of Natsu and Happy, Cana and Lucy, Levy and Gajeel, and Master Makarov. Lucy was smirking over her and Cana "beating" Freed and Bixlow, Natsu was brooding over something, and Gajeel was complaining about getting the "Quiet Route."

"Is this everyone?" Jellal asked Makarov, causing him to make an odd face. "...What."

"Juvia and Lisanna met with _her... _that female knight who doesn't know how to hold back," Makarov said.

"That's my wife; quick, but ferocious."

"You must know that from 'personal experience,' if you know what I mean." Makarov said that with a smirk, making Jellal kick him into some shrubbery for trying to joke about their sex life.

"That just leaves Elfman and Evergreen, then," Lucy said.

"But by process of elimination, the only route left is..." Cana started before she and the rest of them realized that the manly man with the ironic name was forced to go up against his sister, Mirajane "The Demon" Strauss.

"Poor things," Levy said with a sweat drop.

"We woulda won, though," Gajeel said.

"WAAAAAIT!" A voice yelled out. Everyone turned to the direction of the voice to see a tattered elfman and Evergreen walking towards them. "We beat nee-san and made it through, too!"

"What?!" Makarov exclaimed, getting out of the bushes.

"How did you beat Mira?!" Happy asked.

"...I can't say that! As a man," Elfman said, hanging his head down a little.

"Let's just say we got her when her guard was down," Evergreen said, making everyone really wonder what they did to win.

"Regardless, you five teams have passed the first exam," the old man said. "We shall begin the second exam in forty minutes."

"Yay! I got time for _Magi!_" Wendy cheered as she took out a Mini Communications Lacrima to watch her anime.

"Mind if I watch, as well?" Jellal asked.

"Really?! I'd have to watch the first one, but okay." Jellal then sat down next to his childish friend when he noticed a red coloring on her back.

"Are you bleeding?"

"?" Wendy put a hand on her back. "Oh. Must've been from when Loke-san knocked me into a wall."

"He did, did he? ...Lucy."

"Yes?" Lucy replied as Jellal materialized "Tickover."

"You don't mind me turning that lion into a throw rug, do you?"

"I do, thank you very much!" Before Jellal could skin Loke, he was hit in the back of the head by a broom being wielded by an old lady.

"Settle down, you stupid human," the old lady said. She then walked to Wendy, who was staring at her very observantly, and picked up the back of her shirt. "It's just a few cuts; nothing to worry about." She then took out a bottle and poured a liquid on Wendy's back, making the cuts close up. "...What's with you?" She asked Wendy, still just staring at her.

"She's probably just wondering who you are," Makarov said. "Wendy, this is Porlyusica, Fairy Tail's Medicinal Advisor. Natsu thought that with him and Jellal competing, some of the weaker competitors..." he gave a super fast glance towards Cana and Levy, "might end up a little more damaged than necessary, so he suggested that Porlyusica comes along to provide healing." _Though she might end up doing that for something a little more... important. Good thinking, Natsu._

"Just so we're clear, I only came here to get herbs that are hard to come by on the mainland; me deciding to play 'Doctor' is entirely coincidental."

"_Sure _it is." Makarov got hit with the broom.

"I'll be back at the rest area." Porlyusica then walked away from the group.

_That voice... that smell..._ Wendy thought. _Is that..._ As Wendy thought all of this, the opening theme to her anime started, making her completely forget what she was just contemplating. After the episode was done, the other teams were getting ready for the second part of the exam, though Natsu was still sulking.

"We're gonna start the second exam, Natsu; how long are you gonna be depressed?" Happy asked his friend.

"I'm not depressed... I'm just thinking," Natsu responded.

"Natsu's thinking about something?!"

"OH MY GOD!" Wendy exclaimed in Gratuitous English.

_Why are you two belittling him?! _Lucy thought to herself.

_I can't believe that after all of that, I still got stuck at the same point, _Natsu thought. _Stupid Gildarts with his superior strength and life lessons and Haoshoku Haki... was I thinking of someone else with that last one? Whatever..._ Natsu then shot up from the rock he was sitting on. "Jellal! Cana! Levy! Elfman! I challenge you all to see who can become an S-Class mage!"

"Looking forward to it," Jellal said with a smirk. Cana remained silent, but also smirked.

"Me, too," Levy said with a determined look.

"As a man, I have no choice but to accept!" Elfman yelled.

* * *

After that, the second part of the exam began. Each team had six hours to find the grave of the first Master, Mavis Vermillion, not knowing that the island was full of ferocious beasts that would get in their way. Meanwhile, at the rest area, the Fairy Tail mages who had no involvement with the rest of the exam{except Gildarts, Freed, and Bickslow, who had all gone back to guild[Loke went back to the Celestial Spirit world(Porlyusica was at the medical tent)]} were all relaxing and chatting while Erza cooked curry for them.

"Elfman and Evergreen are getting married?!" Erza exclaimed.

"That's what they said to get my guard down and land a good hit," Mira said.

"Wait a minute! When's the ceremony?! And when did they become a couple?!"

"I'm pretty sure it was just a trick."

"Do you know for sure?!"

"I don't think there's anything going on. I mean, if they _did _get married, and had a kid..." Mira then imagined the demon spawn that would be produced by the two of them, causing her to burst into tears.

"Don't cry, Mira; it's a big world, so _someone _is bound to call it cute." _What about Jellal and I? _Erza then imagined an adorable baby with purple hair and a tattoo on its face. _Erza 1, Mira 0._

* * *

While this was happening, Elfman and Evergreen were being chased by a pig-like creature known as a Hodras in an extremely terrified manner.

"Men should not run from enemies!" Elfman shouted.

"Shut up! Can't you ever stay quiet for a little bit?!" Evergreen shouted back. The Hodras then tried to attack with its hoof, but Elfman pushed his partner out of the way, causing them to roll down a hill and escape the threat.

"What are you doing?!" She shouted, pushing Elfman off of her. "Please don't tell me you're actually thinking 'Maybe she actually kinda likes me,' or something after that stupid trick we used on Mira!"

"Not at all," Elfman said. "But I have to thank you. I'd never have come up with such a cowardly plan."

"Don't say 'cowardly!'" It was then that the two of them heard someone approaching. They turned to face who it was, expecting another team, but it was a single, completely unknown face.

"There's someone on this island...?" The person asked. "I thought there would be no one here..." Nearby, Natsu and Happy were in a tree observing the scene, the Dragon Slayer being the only person who knew the identity of the man.

"Natsu, is that..." Happy started.

"Yeah..." Natsu said. "That's Zeref." For the first time in a while, Natsu started to remember that horrible day in the first timeline that started all of this. All of his friends dying around him, he himself being unable to do a single thing; everything he had done these last two years had been for this day, to defeat this man, and he was 120% prepared for it. However, with Grimoire Heart still around, he couldn't afford fighting Zeref and undoubtedly using up all of his magic, even if he did win. For now, Natsu was forced to just observe and let things play out as they did in the first timeline.

"Who are you?" Elfman asked Zeref.

"Only people from our guild are told where this island is," Evergreen said.

"'Guild?'" Zeref repeated. "So this island belongs to a guild."

"What do you want?!" Elfman yelled, stepping forward.

"Okay, Happy, get ready to fly me down at max speed so I can have them avoid his 'Death Wave' thing," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy said, grabbing Natsu's back.

"Please don't misunderstand me, I mean none of you any harm," Zeref said.

"...Hold on, Happy," Natsu said. "Things are going differently for some reason." _This can't be right. Zeref, for whatever reason, couldn't control his magic here, making it activate whenever people got close to him. But Elfman just moved closer to him, and nothing happened! Could it be that... he can control his magic?! ...For now, I just need to watch._

"If you don't mean us harm, then please leave," Evergreen said.

"I don't see a reason for me to; I _have _been here much longer than either of you," Zeref said.

"Are you saying you live here?!" Elfman exclaimed. "Why?!"

"...If I had to pick a reason... it would have to be because of the importance it holds... to someone dear to me."

"_Someone dear to him?!" _Natsu thought to himself. _Even the magic library in Mildea had no information on Zeref's personal life, and now he's saying that he was close to someone connected to this island?! To Fairy Tail?! _Just then, the image of a smiling, blond-haired girl with big, black eyes and wings on her head popped into Natsu's head. _What... who was..._

"Natsu!" Happy whispered, tapping his friend on the back and pointing to the scene below. He looked to where Happy was pointing to find none other than Zeref himself looking right at him.

_Shit!_

"'Made in Heaven,'" Zeref whispered. Suddenly, a black beam shot out at the trunk of the tree, causing it to wither away into nothing and make Natsu and Happy fall to the ground.

"What are _you guys _doin' here?!" Elfman yelled.

"Read the mood, you idiot!" Evergreen yelled back. As they yelled at one another, Zeref slowly walked towards Natsu until he was right in front of him.

"Natsu..." Zeref said. When he did, for some reason, the same black glow that appeared when Natsu and Gajeel fought Baal Miran Big returned.

_This is bad..._ Natsu thought to himself.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	36. Rusted Soul

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _Natsu encountered Zeref, the man responsible for the deaths of his friends in the first timeline, but in a different manner. For whatever reason, this Zeref seems to have control over his magic, and is currently in a standoff with Natsu.

_What do I do?! _Natsu thought to himself. _Do I fight him here and now? I know I can beat him, but Grimoire Heart still has to be taken care of; I'd most likely be completely useless after a fight like this, so we could all be in trouble, even with the "extra help" that we have in this timeline! What the hell should I do...?!_ As Natsu thought all of this, he suddenly noticed something very odd: Zeref was smiling. _?!_

"You seem strong, Natsu," Zeref said. "Maybe those two years weren't a waste, after all."

"?! What did you say...?" Zeref then turned and walked away.

"I hope to see you again, Natsu."

"Hey!" Natsu then charged at Zeref.

"'Mandom,'" he whispered. Natsu then found himself instantly at where Zeref just stood, but the man in question had vanished; when Zeref's disappearance had been made apparent, the black glow vanished from Natsu's chest.

"He's gone!" Happy exclaimed as he ran to Natsu. "How did he do that?!"

"I don't know, Happy..." Natsu replied, his face covered in sweat. _What's going on here? First he can control his magic, and now he knows what's been going on in the world? Nothing I've done could've caused this, so why is this happening?!_ "Anyway, we should just leave that for later. Right now, let's focus on the exam and-"

"Hold it!" Evergreen yelled. "We can't just keep doing the exam as if what just happened never happened. For starters, it looks like you know that guy, so you better-"

"Look!" Natsu exclaimed, pointing to the sky. "It's Tetsuo Hara!"

"Where?!" Elfman asked, turning with a smile.

"What are you doing?!" Evergreen yelled at the man. While she was busy doing that, Happy grabbed Natsu and flew him out of there. "Hey!"

"Wonder where they're going..." Evergreen then hit Elfman in the back of the head. "What was that for?!"

"For being an idiot! Why did you believe something so stupid?!"

"Tetsuo Hara created _FIST OF THE NORTH STAR _while blind in one eye! He is the manliest artist ever!" Evergreen's palm was immediately brought to her face.

"Why did I let you talk me into being your partner...?"

"Didn't _you _force _me _to ask you, though?"

"Whatever! Let's just keep looking for the grave!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the island, the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart had finally begun their assault. Currently, the mages Yomazu and Kawazu were dominating Gajeel and Levy with the latter clearly more than a match for Levy and the former dealing massive damage to Gajeel with his Narukami attack, making him fall to the ground as the blue-haired girl cried out to him.

"If this is the level they're all at, then we can probably take care of them all before the main squad even arrives," Yomazu said.

"Peperon!" Kawazu said in apparent agreement.

"Did you say... 'main squad?'" Gajeel asked, struggling to get up.

"Looks like he's still breathing, pero," Kawazu pointed out.

"I'm talking about our guild," Yomazu said. "The entire Grimoire Heart guild."

"Th... that's..." Levy stuttered.

"Levy... run..." Gajeel said.

"Eh?"

"This isn't some mundane war. This is going to escalate beyond your wildest imagination."

"But... I..."

"You need to let everybody know about this as soon as possible! I can take care of these guys by myself, easily!"

"This genius feels that you shouldn't act so tough in a situation like this!" A voice yelled from seemingly nowhere.

"Huh, peron?" Kawazu asked.

"Who's that?" Yomazu asked.

"_This genius?" _Levy thought to herself. _! It can't be! _Suddenly, Kawazu was blasted into some trees by a mysterious shockwave hitting the front of his body.

"What?!" Then, from seemingly nowhere, the familiar face of Fuyu Navidades appeared in front of Gajeel and Levy. She looked the same as usual, but her Wizard Saint medallion now tied her pigtail together and, for some reason, there was what appeared to be a black comma on her stomach.

"Fuyu-san!"

"Hello!" Fuyu exclaimed.

"'Tenpsycho?' The hell are _you _doing here?!" Gajeel asked, finally back on his feet. The last time any of them saw Fuyu, she said that she was going back to the Bureau of Magical Development and staying there until the Global Viewing Lacrima's data could be readjusted to work with Earth Land technology, so it's safe to say that this was surprising.

"Natsu-kun learned about Grimoire Heart planning to attack this island a few weeks ago, so he asked me and 'a few other people' to come to the island and help your guild."

"'Salamander' did?!"

"Yeah. Isn't Natsu-kun just wonderful~~! He's so smart and strong and handsome! Seriously, I bet you could grate cheese on those abs!"

"This is _not _the time for this! How did you just appear like that out of nowhere, anyway?!"

"With this!" She said, pointing to the black comma that she soon peeled off. "Edolas Magic Tool: 'Sports Max!' Originally, it could only lower your magical presence, but this genius changed it so that it does that _and _makes you invisible! And now that you're all caught up, it's time for this genius to take out the trash!"

"We'll see about that," Yomazu said with a smirk before taking a good look at Fuyu. "Wait... that medallion... that manner of speech... this woman is one of the Symphonia continent's Wizard Saints, 'Fuyu Navidades!'"

"Don't tell me you're _scared, _Mr. Goat?"

"On the contrary... I'm ecstatic! If Kawazu and I can defeat a powerful Fairy Tail mage _and _a Wizard Saint, the Master will rank us even higher than the Seven Kin of Purgatory! We might be considered on par with Bluenote!"

"Pfft! In your dreams! I'm gonna smack you two into next week, and I'll be doing it alone!"

"You will?!" Levy asked.

"The hell are you saying, 'Tenpsycho?!'" Gajeel yelled. "You're gonna make me look like a total bitch if you fight these guys alone!"

"He's got a point, peron," Kawazu said.

"That's just it, Gajeel-kun. You _are_ a total bitch," Fuyu said to the Dragon Slayer.

"What?!" Gajeel exclaimed. Fuyu then threw her hand out in front of Gajeel's face.

"Talk to the hand, bitch!" Yomazu and Kawazu then started laughing. "In all seriousness, though, a person who's let themselves get soft will just slow this genius down."

"'Soft?!' How have I gotten soft?!"

"..." Fuyu then walked behind Gajeel and gave a swift chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out cold and causing him to fall to the ground.

"Gajeel!" Levy cried.

"Take that guy to your friends and don't look back" Levy nodded, picked Gajeel up, and dragged him away. _Gajeel-kun, right now, you have a "rusted soul;" until it regains its shine, you shouldn't be fighting guys like these._

"Don't let her escape!" Yomazu yelled. Before he could do anything, though, he was knocked back by a mysterious blur. "?!" The blur then took shape. It looked like a silver cat, but it stood on two legs, was clearly metallic, wore black boots, and had a silver rapier at its right hip. "What is _that?!_"

"Puss In Boots. Codename: P.I.B. A month ago, this genius came into possession of some very unique metal, and decided to use part of it to build my own fighting cat!" _The rest of the Dorma Anim I took back will be used to build five versions of the robot of various colors that can combine to form a super robot!_

"Like one stupid cat will make a difference, pepepeee!" Kawazu yelled, shooting a large volley of eggs into the air that soon started to fall. "Heavy Egg Rain!"

"...LET YOUR RAPIDITY BE THAT OF THE WIND," P.I.B. said. Its body turned light-green and the character 風 appeared on its chest. The mechanical cat then grabbed its weapon and, in seemingly one thrust, destroyed all of the eggs.

"Peron?!"

"YOUR COMPACTNESS THAT OF THE FOREST." P.I.B. became dark-green and the 風 character became the 林 character. In an instant, it was right in front of Kawazu. "IN RAIDING AND PLUNDERING BE LIKE FIRE." P.I.B.'s body and blade turned red, the 林 character became the 火 character, and it delivered a powerful thrust that sent the chicken man flying.

"Wide open!" Yomazu yelled, running at P.I.B. "Tsuranuki!"

"BE IMMOVABLE LIKE A MOUNTAIN." P.I.B. turned brown, his blade back to silver, and the 火 character became the 山 character. The robot cat stood its ground as the attack connected, but Yomazu picked P.I.B. up with his sword and threw him to the ground.

"So much for your little toy," Yomazu said as he turned to Fuyu, only to find himself getting punched in the face.

"It's fine," Fuyu said. "P.I.B. is still being tested; this will provide this genius with good data on its true battle specs. Besides..." Yomazu then swung his sword, "Suiryū no Samehada Shōtei(Water Dragon's Sharkskin Palm Block)!" Fuyu slapped Yomazu's sword with so much force that it broke in two.

"What?!"

"Besides... my cat was just buying time for me to figure out a good way to deal with the guys trying to mess with Natsu-kun's guild! Suiryū no Gosenmai-gawara(Water Dragon's Five Thousand Tiles)!" Fuyu dealt her opponent a powerful uppercut that sent him flying into the air. When Yomazu crashed to the ground, he had already lost consciousness. This _is how someone like us should've dealt with these chumps, Gajeel-kun! I don't know why you couldn't do this, but you need to learn how to. Otherwise, you can't protect this guild! ...Or that cute girl you got all worried about you! *Wink*_

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Review to your heart's content. When you do, however, make sure not to sugarcoat; honesty's the best policy... even if your cruelty makes me cry!**


	37. Jellal's Sheer Heart Attack

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After defeating Yomazu and Kawazu, Fuyu had started cleaning up the broken mess that was once P.I.B. when Erza, Gray, and Juvia appeared, having heard a lot of noise from camp and deciding to check it out from suspicion that was confirmed when they passed Levy on the way.

"Fuyu!" Erza yelled out.

"Erza!" Fuyu yelled back. "Everything's fine, so... put some clothes on, will ya?! I know this is your guild's island, but you can have _some_ decency, can't you?!" Erza then Requipped into her standard armor and the bracelet with her Wizard Saint medallion.

"Nuhaha..." Yomazu laughed. "You're already... finished. The main force will arrive any moment now. Mages that not even I stand a chance against are coming... the Seven Kin of Purgatory."

"Yeah, we know."

"...What?"

"After Ultear was arrested, we interrogated her and got a ton of info on your guild; that, along with Natsu-kun's little tidbit let us become more than prepared."

"That man sure is useful in a time like this," Erza said.

"You knew about this, Erza-san?!" Juvia asked, Erza only nodding in response.

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Gray asked, playing along and hiding the fact that he already knew, as well.

"When Natsu, Jellal, the Master, and I were discussing this, we agreed not to tell anyone else in order to not have you get worried. It might've been better not to have the exam at all, but something like this would be good practice for becoming an S-Class mage, right?" Gray and Juvia gave Erza angry stares. "A-Anyway! We'll need to put the exam on pause, for now!" Erza then shot the emergency flare into the sky. "All mages, prepare for battle!"

"Heh!" Yomazu uttered. "I wouldn't underestimate the Seven Kin if I were you."

"I've been meaning to ask about that, Goatman," Fuyu said. "Ultear was a member of the Kin, but since she's been arrested, isn't it the 'Six Kin of Purgatory,' now?"

"It should be... but they like 'Seven' better than 'Six,' so they asked us to keep using the old name."

_What kinda weirdoes are we dealing with?_ Fuyu thought with a sweat drop. She then grabbed Yomazu and Kawazu by their collars and Requipped "Melone" to turn P.I.B. into a small cube that then went into her pocket.. "Chairman Teisingumas has a ship a little off the shore; this genius will take these two there to be arrested!" The three Fairy Tail mages nodded their heads and dispersed to prepare for the upcoming battles, Erza and Juvia as a pair, and Gray by himself. When they were gone, Fuyu started moving to the shore.

_Fuyu Navidades... since someone like you is here, I have no doubts about whether or not "they" are here. However, you shouldn't think you have this won just because you beat us so easily. Kawazu and I are mere runts of the litter; compared to us, the Kin are demigods! Our master, Caprico-sama, Kain Hikaru, Zancrow, Meredy, and the two who had already surpassed their original leader, Ultear... Rustyrose and their new boss, the latter of which is already on the island! _

* * *

Meanwhile, at Mavis Vermillion's grave, Makarov gazed up at the sky with a worried look on his face. Before they left for Tenrou, Natsu had asked the old man to not get involved until only Hades was left. Natsu said it was because he didn't want him wasting his energy, but it was actually because Makarov doing that resulted in him getting defeated by his old master.

_With everything Natsu's done for this day to protect us, I'll go along with it... but I still feel like I should be helping out my own kids here, instead of the other way around! ...Maybe that happening just shows how old I've gotten. The day when someone inherits my will may be sooner than I think. ...Inherits my will... _

* * *

Meanwhile, in a sort of desert-like place, a mage was walking around aimlessly when he suddenly came to a stop.

"What is... this feeling?" Laxus asked to no one. "...Probably just gas. I should ignore it."

"Wait, Laxus," A voice yelled from nowhere, "you must not ignore this feeling. The future depends on it... and so does the past."

"What the- Just who the hell are you?" Then, right before Laxus' eyes, appeared a humanoid robot.

"I am the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, and I am here to convince you to help Fairy Tail in their hour of need."

"And why would you wanna do that?"

"Oh well I'm glad you asked, because you see(cue dramatic music) thousands of years ago, Nazi vampires waged war on England and the Hellsing organization. The Nazi vampires were strong, but Hellsing had the greatest of combatants on their side: Crispin Freeman. Crispin Freeman, along with Sir Integra Hellsing and the Big Tittied Police Girl, defeated the Nazi vampires, but before they could celebrate with frothy mugs of water, Crispin Freeman was thrown into an alternate reality where he had no prior connection to Wendee Lee. And in a surprise twist, the cause of such an event was revealed to be alien robot witch Michelle Ruff's desire to get into his pants." The music stops.

"Wait, I thought you said this all happened in the past?"

"It did... and it will!"

"Look, can we just get to the part that concerns me?"

"It's all about _you,_ isn't it, Laxus Dreyar?"

"Well, yeah."

"Very well(music starts again). Thousands of years ago, before Gen Urobuchi, you lived underground, and you were dating this really hot chick."

"I was?"

"Yes. She was totally into you, for some reason."

"Huh. Did we ever have sex?"

"No. All you managed to get was a kiss before getting killed by a gorilla and his white tiger." Laxus grunted at this. "Laxus, you must help your former guildmates. If you do not, the fate of the world and your totally hot 14-year-old girlfriend from the distant future will be in grave danger." The music stopped again.

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that when they all probably hate me?"

"Ask yourself, 'What would Crispin Freeman do?'"

"I thought you said he was trapped in an alternate universe... by an alien robot witch."

"Yes. Don't do that. I dunno, man, you should probably just assume they've gotten over the whole attempted genocide thing or something." The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future then vanished.

"Man, I _really_ need to cut down on the drugs!" We now return to Tenrou Island.

* * *

The current scene is an area by the ocean. Jellal and Wendy had ended up there while searching for Mavis' grave, but immediately stopped when they saw the emergency flare.

"Looks like it's started..." Jellal said.

"Yeah..." Wendy said, shaking a little. Even though Wendy tried to act confident, she still got rather nervous whenever it came to fighting. Noticing this, Jellal put a hand on her shoulder, making her stop shaking.

"Don't worry, Wendy. As long as I'm here, nothing bad will happen to you." Wendy gave a smile to her older companion. Then, the two mages noticed two cats flying down to the ground near them.

"Carla? Lily? What are you two doing here."

"I was worried about you, and Lily felt like tagging along," Carla said, making Wendy pout.

"Will you stop being so protective, already?! I can handle myself just fine, you know!"

"Come on, Wendy..." Jellal said. "She's just looking out for-!" Jellal suddenly grabbed Wendy and the cats and jumped to the right, avoiding a linear explosion of some kind.

"An attack?! What's going on?!" Lily asked.

"...I know you're there; show yourself, Azuma!" Then, the bark from a nearby tree suddenly began to morph until it took the form of a man who then stood on the ground in front of the four Fairy Tail mages.

"Good job finding me," Azuma said. "I'm glad to see being in a legal guild hasn't dulled your senses, Jellal."

"Wh-who is this man?!" Lily asked.

"I am Azuma, one of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory."

"A Dark Guild?!" Carla exclaimed.

"Still, though, why was _I_ the first person to come to mind for you, Jellal. It doesn't make sense that you would assume the attacker to be me... unless you knew this would happen." Jellal simply smirked. "My, my. That Natsu Dragneel truly is deserving of the title of 'Reborn Fairy Tactician.'" He then looked out to sea to see a Council boat. "I'm assuming that boat isn't there by coincidence, either."

"Are you going to blow it up?" Jellal asked.

"...No. I can detect a very high level of power aboard that ship; trying to blow it up would be pointless. My time and effort would be better suited for something more... enjoyable."

"Carla, Lily, you two get out of here," Wendy said to the Exceeds.

"What?!" Carla exclaimed.

"Carla I understand, but this man seems very powerful!" Lily said. "I should stay and-"

"You can only fight for a few minutes, and you're better with swords, which you don't have," Wendy interjected. "You'll both just get in the way, so you should leave."

"What about you?!" Carla asked.

"I need to stay here in case Jellal needs backup."

"Don't be an idiot, Wendy! If you stay here and get involved with a guy like that 'Azuma,' you might... you might..."

"I won't die! Have faith in Jellal and me, dammit!"

"..." Carla and Lily activated Aera and flew away.

"Now that the cats are gone..." Azuma started. He then threw what looked like a coconut at Jellal, but he used Bungee Gum to fling it away before it exploded. After the explosion cleared, Azuma suddenly appeared right in front of Jellal and put his hand at his face. "Bleve." Jellal was engulfed in an explosion, but it didn't affect him too bad, as he was able to hit Azuma with an uppercut. After the punch connected, Jellal noticed small orbs of light around him.

"Meteor!" He shouted, covering his body in a yellow aura and flying to the air to avoid another explosion. "Sonído!" Jellal flew at Azuma with incredible speed and delivered a powerful kick to his chest, making him cough blood.

"It'll take more than that... to defeat- ?!" Azuma suddenly stopped when he saw Jellal's leg turn into a missile.

"Baby 5: Missile!"

"Burst Claw!" A root knocked Jellal to the ground that simultaneously causing an explosion that damaged him significantly while the missile was fired at Azuma, exploding as well.

"Jellal!" Wendy cried.

"I'm fine, Wendy," Jellal said.

"But your leg-!" She then saw the fragments of the missile moving towards Jellal and remaking his leg.

"Anything made from Baby 5 that gets destroyed is almost immediately restored." Wendy's nose then started to bleed. "...This is referencing an anime of some sort, isn't it?"

"Indeed, Young Master Joker."

"'Young Master Joker?'" Jellal repeated with a sweat drop. He then turned his attention back to the explosion, seeing that it had almost completely cleared. When it did, Azuma was standing. He was also noticeably damaged and his typical stoic face was replaced with a very out of place smile.

"This is magnificent!" Azuma shouted. "I've always wanted to fight you, Jellal, and now that I am, I feel incredible! Another member of our guild, Meredy, wanted to be the one to defeat you, but I'm afraid that she won't get that chance!" He then sent out a multitude of linear explosions. Jellal managed to dodge them with Meteor, but he saw that one was heading right towards Wendy, so he intercepted it.

"Jellal!" Wendy shouted.

"...Why did you do that? That girl, the 'Sky Priestess,' I believe she's called..." Wendy got angry when Azuma used that nickname of hers. She didn't like being called that because of her history regarding the name, and she _definitely_ didn't like bad guys calling her that, since one particular bad guy ruined her life because of that name. "She could've avoided that attack; you didn't need to do that. You've caused unnecessary damage to yourself, so now my killing of you won't be as enjoyable."

"What did you say?! Depending on your answer I may have to kick your ass!"

"Easy, Wendy," Jellal said, patting her on the head. "Fireball!" An energy field brighter than Meteor surrounded Jellal's body as he flew at Azuma to punch him, but his fist only hit a barrier of roots. "In that case!" Jellal materialized "Tickover." "Pondo-" But before his attack could go through, the sword suddenly exploded. "What?!"

"'Tickover' was...!"

_How did that happen?! I didn't see him do anything, so how-_

"HEY!" A voice yelled. "OVER HERE!"

"?!" Jellal looked around, but he didn't see anyone.

"OVER HERE!" He then felt something running up his right arm. When he looked at it, he saw what looked like a tank-treaded ball with a fox-skull face.

"What in the world?!"

"HEY!" The object then started grinding Jellal's arm.

"AGHHHHHHHH!" As Jellal screamed, the object started glowing.

_That glow... it can't be!_ Wendy thought to herself. "Tenryū no Funryū Yari(Sky Dragon's Jet Spear)!" Wendy brought her hands together and made a thrust with her fingertips facing forward, releasing a blast of wind that knocked the object off of Jellal's arm. Soon after that, an explosion was created, but seconds later, the strange thing appeared on the ground again, shouting, "HEY!" and "OVER HERE!" and not even looking like it was involved with an explosion. _It's still alive?! And what's more, it looks completely fine! If this was a manga drawn by Hirohiko Araki, the "GOGOGOGO" SFX would definitely be seen right now!_ Wendy's nose then started to bleed.

"Nessen Tsuibi Bakudan(Heat-Seeking Bomb): Sheer Heart Attack," Azuma said, deactivating his barrier. "It is a completely autonomous bomb that seeks out whatever is the warmest thing in the vicinity and induces an explosion there with a power proportional to the heat of the target. You were charging an attack in your blade, so it naturally became a large source of heat. Then, the confusion of your precious blade being destroyed created anxiety for you, making you the next hottest heat source. Not only that, but Sheer Heart Attack is indestructible."

_"Indestructible?!" Then... how are we supposed to fight it?! How?!_ As Wendy thought this, Sheer Heart Attack turned to "look" at Wendy.

_No!_ Jellal thought to himself. _Wendy's fear is causing her body to heat up, making her Sheer Heart Attack's next target!_

"HEY!" Sheer Heart Attack shouted as it sped towards Wendy.

"KYAAAAA!" She shouted, shutting her eyes and crying a little.

"ROOM!" Jellal shouted. A wave of energy was released that made contact with the bomb seconds before it touched Wendy, causing Sheer Heart Attack to start flying towards Jellal.

"YOU'RE NOT MY TARGET, BUT YOU'LL DO!" Sheer Heart Attack shouted.

"Kamakura(Snow Hut)!" A barrier of snow formed around Jellal that the bomb immediately made contact with and induced an explosion. When the dust cleared, the Kamakura was completely destroyed, but Jellal was more or less alright.

_Thank goodness..._ Wendy thought, wiping away a few tears. Jellal waited for Azuma or the bomb to move, but both remained motionless.

_Wendy seems to have calmed down; our body temperatures should be the same, so Sheer Heart Attack won't have a target at the moment. But why is Azuma not doing anything...?_

"...You did it again," Azuma said.

"?"

"For a second time now, you deliberately put yourself in harm's way to protect that girl. Why, though? Why is she so important that you won't even let her defend herself?"

"..."

"Are you two... romantically involved?" Jellal and Wendy's eyes nearly flew out of their skulls.

"What~~~?!"

"Jellal and I are _NOT_ involved like that!" Wendy yelled, her face full of blush. "he's married, first of all! And even if he wasn't, he only likes tall, busty women, and I am neither! …Oh..." Wendy then hung her head down. "I made myself sad..."

"It was just a question..." Azuma said, a sweat drop forming from the way they reacted. "Regardless of whatever you call your relationship, the bond between the two of you is obviously stronger than the standard bond formed between guildmates."

_I won't deny that, but what exactly_ is_ our bond...?_ Jellal thought. _It's_ DEFINITELY _not romantic in that sense of the word! Friends? No, it's higher. Best friends? Higher. From there, though, only family is left. Is our bond a sibling's bond. ...Maybe, but I sort of had that with Simon and the others, and this still feels different. What then...?_

"So, if something were to... 'happen' to that bond, exactly how would you react, Jellal?"

"What are you-! Wendy, move!" But Jellal was too late. Before Wendy knew it, she was ensnared by multiple thick roots with a sort of timer at the front that started at 180 and kept decreasing.

"What is this?!" Wendy yelled.

"A 180-Second Time Bomb," Azuma said. "In exactly three minutes, it will detonate, destroying everything with a powerful explosion. The only way to deactivate it is to defeat me."

"Azuma, you bastard!" Jellal yelled. "Why are you trying to push me like this?!"

"This is the best fight I've had in awhile, but it _could_ be better. The thought of someone important to you dying can push you to a great extreme, and if the 'Sky Priestess' actually _does_ perish, well... the rage from that could make you into a fighting machine like no other! I couldn't _possibly_ pass that up, now could I?"

"You mother-"

"You have 160 seconds left."

"...!"

"OVER HERE!" Sheer Heart Attack shouted as it charged at Jellal and the frightened Wendy.

"...Don't worry, Wendy. I promised that nothing bad would happen to you, and you promised Carla that you wouldn't die..." He then activated Photon Stream and gave Sheer Heart Attack a super fast kick, knocking it into the air right before it exploded and reappeared on the ground. "Those are promises we're going to keep!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Nice twist, Mashima. Everyone thought Future Rogue would be evil, but he's actually a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.**

**Pie: He always keep us on our toes. Usually with stupidity, cliches, and random plot twists, but he always keeps us there.**

**Fox: Yep.**

**Pie: Yep.**

**Fox: Mmhmm. Oh! By the way, I've decided to give the 100th. reviewer the right to come up with an omake for me to write, so keep reviewing, and you might get lucky!**

**Pie: Is this another trick to get more reviews?**

**Fox: Gasp! How could you say that, Pie?! I'm so shocked that I won't even dignify that with a response!**

**Pie: ...Shut up. **

* * *

**Review to your heart's content. When you do, however, make sure not to sugarcoat; honesty's the best policy... even if your cruelty makes me cry!**


	38. Tommorow's Courage

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _Jellal had just gotten into a battle with Azuma, the new leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. The battle was your typical mage's battle, at first, but Azuma more or less crossed the line by placing a timebomb on Wendy that would detonate in three minutes if Jellal didn't win. From here on out, the battle would become all the more incredible, and unbeknownst to any of those three mages, a black Lacrima was floating in the air several meters away, broadcasting the entire fight to the passengers of an approaching airship.

* * *

"Things have started to heat up on the island," Caprico said as he and the rest of Grimoire Heart watched the fight. "This battle could go either way, don't you think?"

"A-A-A-A-A..." Kain Hikaru stuttered.

"No matter who is victorious, the beauty that is battle shall not die from this," Rustyrose said. "It shall shine throughout the shadows until light and darkness reach a unity. Therefore, it shall never die, and those of light shall always tremble when against our fragmented hearts."

"AZUMAISGOINGTOWIN!"

"You're talking too fast!" Zancrow shouted.

"Translation: 'Azuma is going to win,'" Meredy said, rubbing her legs from the knees down. "However, Azuma won't win. I won't allow it. I won't accept it! He said that _he_ would be defeating Jellal, but _I _am the one who will defeat him, who will kill him! I won't allow him to live after taking Ultear away from me and nearly killing her! I won't!

"However, I alone have the right to kill him, which is why I hope Azuma fails in the most embarrassing of ways. After that, though, Jellal will be severely weakened, and he'll be easy for me to kill! After that, it's the brains behind Ultear's arrest, Natsu Dragneel. Then, it's the first person to hurt Ultear, Gray Fullbuster. After that, Makarov Dreyar. After that, Gildarts Clive. After that, Erza Scarlet. After that-"

"Don't you think you should calm down?" Zancrow asked. A dead silence then invaded the ship. "What?" Meredy then walked over to Zancrow, her feet making a loud clunk with each step, and kicked him in his shin. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" He then fell over, clutching his leg.

"Did you just tell me what to do, Zancrow? Since you _apparently_ have the right to do so, let _me _tell _you _what to do: go down to the local pharmacy, ask for something called 'Viagra,' and it'll help you go _fuck _yourself!" She then walked away to watch the fight from a different place.

"She _sure_ did a number on you," Bluenote said with a slight chuckle.

"No shit, Sherlock! I'm just glad I dumped her _before _all this stuff with Ultear happened."

"Didn't _she_ break up with _you?_"

"That's one version of it."

"The truthful version, you mean?"

"You had to be there!"

"All of us were there, though."

"Shut up!" This probably requires clarification. Back in early January of that year, Zancrow and Meredy started going out. Things were good, more or less, but their relationship came to an end in September. From that moment, things between the two of them became... 'awkward,' to say the least, and Ultear's incarceration, on top of what happened with Meredy's legs, just made her even _more_ irritable around her ex-boyfriend. Now, we return to the fight.

* * *

Back at Tenrou Island, Jellal and Azuma's fight continued. The two mages were about evenly matched, but the presence of Sheer Heart Attack made it as if Jellal was fighting two people at once, putting him in a losing situation. And with only 80 seconds left before the bomb Wendy was trapped in would go off, he couldn't afford something like that.

"Bleve!" Azuma shouted, releasing an explosion from his hand. Jellal, still using Photon Stream, was able to dodge by jumping in the air, but Sheer Heart Attack soon ended up right behind him, ready to explode.

"Kamakura!" Jellal shouted, creating his snow barrier mere milliseconds before the bomb went off. The resulting blast knocked him to the ground, and as soon as he got up, Sheer Heart Attack was already after him, shouting "OVER HERE!"

_Dammit! _Jellal thought. _It's impossible to deal with both Azuma _and _that thing! How am I supposed to... that's it! _Jellal then picked up a rock and attached one end of his Bungee Gum to it. He then ran up to the mobile bomb and attached the rock with the other end. After that, Sheer Heart Attack paused for a moment before going off in a random direction.

"?! What did you do?!" Azuma asked.

"I used Texture Surprise to change the physical properties of that rock to those of lava. Like this, Sheer Heart Attack is effectively blind. It'll just keep chasing the heat from that rock forever. It's like a donkey that thinks if it runs just a little bit faster it'll be able to catch up to the dangling carrot. That _stupidity _is its weakness."

"...Fufufu. Not bad, Jellal. However, you've only solved a _part _of the problem; the main one still persists, doesn't it?"

_He's right... There's only 55 seconds left until the bomb goes off, and this fight doesn't look like it'll end anytime soon, at this rate; if I want to save Wendy, I need to do it now! I don't have enough magic for a Tentai Ōgi, but Azuma pretty damaged already, so this should suffice! _Jellal then crossed his arms above his head. As he did this, all of the nearby shadows started to gather in front of him to form a large, black orb with multiple dots. "Altairis!" The orb was then immediately launched at Azuma.

_What incredible power! I don't have a defensive technique that can block that, and given the size of it, there's not enough time to dodge! In that case... _"Tower Burst!" A pillar of flame then erupted from the ground a little in front of Azuma and engulfed Altairis, making it get stuck in the flames to a certain degree.

_What?! Tower Burst is supposed to be used for enemies at close range, so what is trying to accomplish by having it go off there?! _Jellal then took a good look at the current scene of interest and saw what was happening: Altairis was getting smaller. _Of course! He's using Tower Burst to try and shave down Altairis to a level that won't destroy him! A smart plan, but utterly futile! Break through, my attack! _Altairis, now almost 80% smaller, broke out of the pillar of flames and hit Azuma directly in the chest, causing him to stumble. _Come on! Fall, already! _However, the dark mage soon regained his balance and looked at Jellal with a smirk.

"That was an incredible attack, Jellal. If I was even one second late with Tower Burst, I probably would've gone down. Let's see how far you can go in round two of our battle."

"_Round two?!" _Jellal then turned back to Wendy to see that the counter had reached "5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"WENDY~~~~!" The counter went down to "0," and as soon as it did... nothing happened. "...Huh?"

"What?!" Azuma shouted.

_...I'm... alive...? _Wendy thought to herself. _Or did I... did I... _Wendy then looked down at her chest and started crying. "I'm still alive... the cruel fate of being a pettanko couldn't _possibly _go into the afterlife, right~?"

_I-Impossible! How could my bomb not go off?! Something like this has never happened in my 25 years of fighting, so why now?! _As Azuma pondered this, seven points of light suddenly appeared on his chest. "Crap!" Before he could do anything, he was blasted away by Jellal's Minor Chariot.

"Wendy!" Jellal shouted, running over to her. "Are you al- GAH!" He suddenly fell to one knee and began to breathe heavily.

"Are you alright?!" Wendy asked.

"Yeah... it just... got hard to breathe... for some reason. You don't have a problem?" Wendy shook her head.

"But... why didn't the bomb go off?"

"I don't know... but let's get you out of there- KAH!" He then started coughing violently. _Why is it so hard to breathe right here? And why doesn't Wendy even notice? No... I can worry about that later; Azuma won't stay down for long, so we need to use this as a chance to retreat! The counter has gone down to "0," so these should just be regular roots now! _Jellal grabbed the roots and pulled them apart to free Wendy. He then grabbed the girl, activated Meteor, and ran away from the area.

"Running away, are you?" Azuma asked, finally getting up. "As if I'll-" Before he could finish talking, though, the time bomb that had appeared to be a dud suddenly went off, the wind pressure nearly knocking Azuma back to the ground. _It _wasn't _a dud?! If that's the case, why didn't it go off on time?! I know Jellal didn't do anything; he looked absolutely terrified over the possibility of that girl dying! Then... no, that's ridiculous. That girl couldn't have done anything. Regardless, there's still a battle to be had here, Jellal; I won't allow you to avoid it! _He then took off in the direction that Jellal and Wendy went.

* * *

A few minutes later, Jellal had stopped so he could catch his breath. After doing so, he lifted up his arm, pointed his hand out, and after a few seconds, a Thought Projection was created.

"I'm counting on you, Siegrain," Jellal said. "Siegrain" then nodded his head and flew off in the direction they just came from.

"Why did you do that?" Wendy asked. "Won't a Thought Projection only be able to use half of your power? It won't be able to fight Azuma for very long!"

"I know; at best, it'll buy us two minutes, but probably only one. However, that's just enough time to relay my plan."

"You have a plan?! What is it?!"

"I have one spell that'll be able to finish Azuma off as soon as it hits him, but I need to stay still and recharge my magic..."

"That's not too bad..."

"...for five minutes. And considering 'Siegrain' will probably only last one... ah, never mind, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"How?!"

"Because, Wendy, _you'll _distract him for the rest of the time."

"...WHAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~~T?!"

"Can you do it?"

"Of course not! That's insane! How can you expect me to go against a monster like that?!"

"Because of what you did to negate the explosion."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Are you positive?"

"...Well, I was breathing a lot, because it was the only thing I could think of to do... so what?! Are you saying my breathing delayed the explosion?! How?!"

"I'll explain it to you."

* * *

While Jellal explained to Wendy how she can fight Azuma, the Great Tree Arc user was approaching the area the Fairy Tail mages stopped at when he ran into "Siegrain."

"What happened to the 'Sky Priestess?'" Azuma asked. "Siegrain," however, remained silent. "No matter, she's of no concern at the moment. My battle is with you, so let's have at it!"

* * *

Back with the Fairy Tail mages, Jellal had finished explaining everything to Wendy.

"When you put it that way, it _does_ make sense for me to do this..." Wendy said. "I probably have the best chance of distracting him long enough than anyone else on the island. But... I can't!"

"Wendy..." Jellal said.

"I just can't, Jellal! I know I've gotten a lot stronger, but asking me to go against someone like that is too much! I'm still too weak to do something like this!"

"So you won't even try?"

"..."

"I thought you wanted me to train you so you could be useful. Now, right now, you can be of more importance than ever before, and yet you're passing up the chance. If not now, then when will you put your inner cowardice aside for your friends?"

"I'll... do it tomorrow!"

"Which 'tomorrow' is that?"

"T... tomorrow..."

"Wendy, what are you most afraid of?"

"..." Because Wendy didn't say anything, like when they were at Nirvana, Jellal slapped Wendy across the face.

"You're most afraid of that pain? You're afraid of pain? Aren't you more afraid of turning into an adult and _still _not being able to protect those around you?" Wendy then started crying.

"Uh... I... I..."

"..."

"When I think about how there's a chance Azuma can beat you... if you're defeated by him, then I'll be the only one left... all because I didn't do anything and you were protecting me."

"So...?"

"So... I won't allow it! _I'll _be the one to protect _you! _Tomorrow is right now, Jellal!"

"Hmph!" He smiled and rubbed the top of Wendy's head. "That's the answer I was looking for! Now, go and fight! Wendy Marvell!"

"Yes!" Even though she should've moved after that, Wendy just stood there.

"...You're still here."

"Of course I am! Even after all of that, the difference in our power is gonna make me scared, you know!"

"Yare yare daze. I should've known this would happen..." Jellal then stuck his hand out and materialized a small twister, "so this should even things up a little."

"What is-" Before Wendy could finish, though, Jellal had shoved the twister into her mouth. After a few seconds of choking, she eventually managed to swallow.

"Well?"

"...Thanks for the meal."

* * *

Back with Azuma and "Siegrain," the latter was currently beaten to a pulp by the former.

"I guess I did more to you than I thought, Jellal," Azuma said. after he did though, "Siegrain" vanished. "?! A Thought Projection?!"

"That's right," a voice said. Azuma turned towards the source of the voice to see the familiar figure of the blue-haired Otaku approaching.

"Where is the real Jellal? I'd suggest you tell me, unless you want to make me angry."

"That's a good enough reason to tell you."

"Good."

"Daga kotowaru(But I refuse)."

"Stop acting like a smart-ass. I _will _finish my fight with Jellal, so tell me where he is!"

"I won't tell you where Jellal is, and he won't be your opponent." Wendy then struck a fighting stance. "I will!"

"...I don't have time for this." Azuma then turned and began to walk away.

"So you're running away from a fight, then?" He stopped dead in his tracks, but didn't turn around.

"...Come again?"

"Well, it's weird, isn't it? You seem like a man who likes to fight, so why would pass up a chance to fight when someone's challenging you? Obviously, you don't discriminate by sex or age, since you were willing to blow me up before, but an actual fair fight is out of the question? Could it be... you're scared?"

"..."

"I totally get that, though. If you lose, you just got beat up by a girl, and everyone thinks you're a faggot. If you win, then you just beat up a girl, and everyone thinks you're an asshole. However, by simply avoiding the fight, the gender factor disappears, and you simply look like a coward for avoiding a fight. You don't want to be a coward, do you, Azuma_-san?_" Wendy had just met Azuma, but she could already tell that he was a man of great pride. If she brought up the possibility of him being viewed as a coward, he would definitely take the bait and fight long enough for Jellal to charge his spell.

"..." Azuma then turned towards Wendy. "I hope you like pain, 'Sky Priestess.'" He then charged at her and threw a punch, but Wendy, much to his surprise, caught his fist. _What?! _

"I'm not... afraid of pain..." As Wendy said this, scales started appearing all over her body.

_This is...! I've heard of this before!_

"What I'm truly afraid of, though..."

_When a Dragon Slayer's body becomes covered in scales, they reach their ultimate stage of power, said to be that of an actual Dragon's! _

"Is staying a weakling forever!" When the scales stopped appearing in places on her body, Wendy took a deep breath and blasted Azuma away with her roar.

"GUBOFAAAAAAH!" "_Dragon Force!"_

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Pie: Isn't Wendy a little OP here?**

**Fox: No. She is in no way possible stronger than Azuma; right now, her normal power puts her on par with Caprico/Zoldeo, who I believe is the sixth strongest member of the Kin, and even with Dragon Force activated, she's only as strong as Zancrow, who I guess to be fourth strongest. The only reason she can fight Azuma is because of the advantage her magic gives her.**

**Pie: What advantage is that?**

**Fox: You'll find out next chapter, but the smart readers will get it before then!**

**Pie: Aren't you calling everyone who can't figure it out stupid?**

**Fox: AH! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

**Pie: You can only gain forgiveness through seppuku.**

**Fox: Too extreme! **

* * *

**Review to your heart's content. When you do, however, make sure not to sugarcoat; honesty's the best policy... even if your cruelty makes me cry! **


	39. Return to the Earth, Sleep as a Hero

**Fox: Once again, I reiterate that Wendy is not stronger than Azuma; her magic merely gives her an advantage, and Dragon Force allows her to keep up with him. Also, I apologize for nothing that will happen in this chapter. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

_I hope Wendy will be alright... _Jellal thought as he meditated in order to better focus on recharging his magic. _It's just five minutes, but with the guy she's up against, there's a chance that she could... that she could... no, that won't happen! She's in Dragon Force _and _she knows how to fight Azuma; she can do this! We're going to take him down and the rest of Grimoire Heart down! After that, Natsu will defeat Zeref, and we'll keep going with the S-Class exams... and I'll win. Huh. Before, I was only doing this because you asked me to make you my partner, but now... I actually _want _to pass, if not for my sake... then for the sake of seeing you smile when I win. _A smile then appeared on his face. _That would be a nice thing to see, regardless of what our bond actually is. But for now, I need to focus on recharging. ...Dun dunnnn duh dun dun... mahna mahna dun duh duh dun... mahna mahna duh dunnn duh duh duh, duh duh duh, duh duh duh dunna chargin' my magic_(A/N: That was to the tune of "Mahna Mahna")_._

* * *

It's safe to say that the sight of Wendy, someone who Azuma, would never consider strong, using Dragon Force and actually landing a decent hit really "blew away" the expectations of those watching.

"I must say, 'Sky Priestess,' you've surprised me right now," Azuma said. "To use Dragon Force... and actually damage me... however! It'll take more than that to intimidate me! Some fools may say that you're as strong as a Dragon, but Dragon Force is nothing more than a simple power boost! From the intelligence we've gathered, we know that you're the weakest of the three Dragon Slayers in Fairy Tail, so all this will do is make you average!" At that moment, roots shot up from the ground and ensnared Wendy's limbs. Wendy, though, kept a calm face and simply breathed. "I wouldn't be so calm, if I were you. Chain Burst!" Azuma expected an explosion, but, for some reason, no such thing occurred. "What?!"

"Tenryū no Kūki-dama(Sky Dragon's Air Ball)!" Five balls of air then appeared with four crashing into the roots, destroying them and freeing Wendy, and the fifth flying at Azuma, though he managed to dodge it. After that, Wendy backed up from and then, for whatever reason, the remaining bits exploded.

_It happened again! My bombs that always go off without fail activated at the wrong times! Is her magic really responsible for such a thing?! _It was then that Azuma noticed a familiar autonomous bomb rolling around. _That could work. I can use Sheer Heart Attack to see if this girl's really responsible for all of this!_ He then summoned a root and had it pull the Bungee Gum off of the bomb and throw it far into the ocean. As soon as it hit the water, Sheer Heart Attack immediately turned towards Wendy.

"THAT WASN'T A HUMAN..." it said. "HEY!" The bomb then sped towards the girl, Azuma carefully watching out for anything suspicious. As with his previous attack, though, all Wendy did was breath. No handsigns. No chants. She did absolutely nothing. This made Azuma think that those last two times were just flukes and Sheer Heart Attack would surely do away with Wendy. But when it bumped into her leg to explode... nothing happened.

_What?!_

"HEY!" The bomb backed up and bumped into her leg again. It then did it again and again, but it kept not exploding. "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!" Wendy then motioned a hand and wrapped Sheer Heart Attack up in a ball of air, lifted it up, and threw it towards the water. "OVER HEREEEEEE~~~" A few seconds after it broke the surface of the water, an explosion happened.

_Again?! This happened again?!_

"What the matter?" Wendy asked using the voice one uses when playing with a baby or a small child. "Is the big bad dark mage mage having twouble bwowing up wittle old me?"

"Don't... you... fuck with meeeeee!" Wendy then found herself thrown into the air and wrapped up by tree roots in a slightly erotic manner(the exact specifics of this scene's appearance will be left up to your imagination). The girl was initially taken back from the suddenness of it(not the erotic manner of it all, though), but she regained her composure and started breathing. "I don't know what manner of trickery is being employed, but it ends here! Take this! An attack which garners the magic of your very 'holy land!' Terra Clamare!"

* * *

Back on Grimoire Heart's airship, everyone stared at the screen displaying the battle in utter disbelief at what had just happened.

"No way..." Zancrow said

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-..." Kain stammered.

"Something like this is completely against the algorithm of this war..." Meredy said.

"Azuma's most beautiful attack... by this little sapling..." Rustyrose started before Hades, who had been watching the fight while casually drinking red wine, dropped his glass, causing it to shatter.

"...Has been stopped...?!" Hades exclaimed, his face riddled with sweat drops.

* * *

_ARE YOU KIDDING ME~~~~?! _Azuma thought to himself.

"Azuma_-san!_" Wendy yelled. "As much as I _love _tentacle rape scenes, we should start this fight for real, shouldn't we?"

"...!"

"Well, then... COOOOOOOOOOOO." Wendy took a deep breath and summoned a multitude of air balls in-between herself and the roots, pushing the roots away from her body and causing her to fall. As she fell, another ball of air appeared that she kicked against to launch herself into the air. When she got high up, she put her legs together and started spinning towards Azuma feet first. "Jinkō Tenryū no..." If Azuma was completely focused and not having a slight mental breakdown, he could've dodged Wendy's attack. However, with three of his attacks being stopped in a row, the last one being his best, as well, his focus had diminished a tad, allowing Wendy's spiralling kick to hit him. "Tornado Overdrive(Artificial Sky Dragon's Tornado Overdrive)!" The impact sent Azuma flying a good four meters until he eventually crashed into a tree.

_This girl...!_

"3..."

_?_

"2..."

_Is she...?_

"1..."

_No way..._ It was just as Azuma predicted; at that moment, an explosion suddenly erupted in the area that Terra Clamare was supposed to go off originally. _That can't be. That can't be. THAT CAN'T BEEEEEEE~~~~~!_

"Aerokinesis."

"...?!"

"It's a form of psychokinesis that gives someone control over the air. With it, one could create balls of air... or eliminate all the oxygen in a certain area."

"'Eliminate all the oxygen?' ...It can't be!"

"That's right. Magic or not, a bomb is a bomb and must follow the laws of physics. In order for a combustion reaction to take place, oxygen must be present; without oxygen, there's no reaction, and, therefore, no explosion. But as soon as I'm a safe distance away from it, it's fine to bring back the oxygen and let you blow up nobody, right~?"

"!"

"Through my training with Jellal, I've gained mastery of my breathing. At first, I could only use it to power myself up; actually creating things was possible, but it took too much effort and breathing, so I didn't focus as much on it. However! Now that Dragon Force is active, I can freely manipulate the air to do whatever I wish! I can create weapons for battle, and I can even eliminate oxygen; I call the latter the 'Void Gale!' With it, I create an area around myself where only I am allowed to breathe in air! As long as I have this ability, your bombs are utterly useless! Azuma!"

* * *

"...Caprico, take everyone to the island," Hades said.

"Now?" The goat man asked. "If you want meh to do that, it's fine, but we _will _be landing soon, so..."

"Just go! Bluenote, you too!"

"Huh?!" The Deputy Commander of Grimoire Heart exclaimed. "I'm not going out there now! Not even one member of the Kin's been taken out yet, so I can just stay here, can't I?! Besides, I only came here for Fairy Glitter, so I'd prefer not to-" Bluenote was then cut off by Hades using his Chain Magic to strangle him.

"Do not forget your place here, Bluenote Stinger. You are below me, so you shall do as I say. And what I'm saying now is, 'Azuma's defeat is certain, so you, as the strongest under me, shall go to the island to make up for his loss and help deal Fairy Tail a swift and humiliating defeat!' Is that clear?!" Bluenote weakly nodded his head. When he did, Hades dispelled his magic and motioned for Caprico to take everyone away, which he soon did. This then left Hades alone to his thoughts as the ship continued towards the island.

_To think that I would lose such a powerful piece in this game so early on... damn you, Makarov's kids! Damn you!_

* * *

"I was often blowing off my studies..." Wendy started, "but Carla taught me history, and I'm good at it. Among the Desierto writings of 2,500 years ago, there is Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War,' and it states: 'victory is ensured even before the beginning of the fight.' Or, to put it differently, Azuma... you have to come up with all kinds of tactics before the fight, without the enemy noticing! You might be older than me, but when it comes to designing tricks, I am much smarter than you are! GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hmm...! Da... damn you...!" Azuma cursed.

"Oh! Getting angry, Azuma? Mad to have your bombs become useless? Go ahead, get really angry! I'll be angrier than that! Because of your stupid guild, my three weeks of training for this exam might end up completely wasted!"

"Uh... uuh..." Azuma started doing something that no one could have ever possibly predicted; he started crying.

"?!"

"Uh... uuhh... no fair... HEEEEYYYY(A/N: This is said in English)! No fair~~~!"

_He's crying?! I was expecting him to be mad like hell... but now that same Azuma... I wasn't anticipating this! It's... it's quite vile. He's yelling like a spoiled brat. Also, why does this seem familiar. It seems like a scene from an anime or manga, but if it was, I'd have a nosebleed. How... bizarre!_ While Wendy thought this, Azuma had fallen to his knees.

"AHYYY AHYYY AHY WHOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH! Myyyyyyyy booooooooombs!"

_Somehow... it's even more disturbing than if he was angry! I'd better quickly weaken him enough so he can't do anything before Jellal gets here! _Wendy took a few steps forward to do that, but stopped when Azuma suddenly stopped crying and stood up. _?!_

"Whew~ I'm feeling better. I have a much more violent temper than most of my guild... so when I'm about to lose my self-control and get wild, I usually cry aloud to calm my mind."

_I've _definitely _seen this scene before! Why is there no nosebleed, though?!_

"You quoted Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War,' right? I'm familiar... 'War is the art of deceiving!' To fight is to deceive! By disturbing and angering the enemy, you make him sway! That's what you're trying to do, correct? I won't let myself be caught... However, 'Sky Priestess,' your strength has astounded me... I'll honor your magic! I haven't been surprised in such a way for quite some time, after all." Then, with no sound or warning, a fist made of wood shot out from a tree and punched Wendy in the back, sending her a good distance away and would've had her on her back if she didn't keep her feet on the ground.

"Although I prefer to create explosions, that is not the true power of the 'Great Tree Arc.' This magic's true form is simply using the energy of the planet to manipulate trees; those bombs are only born from condensing the power of the earth into fruit. Now that that has been sealed, I will simply kill you using the 'root' of my power!" Azuma then put a hand on a tree and got completely absorbed into it.

"I don't think so! Zoom Punch!" Wendy hit the tree Azuma went inside of with her elongated arm, shattering it in an instant. However, when the tree broke, Azuma wasn't there. "What?!"

"Folium Sica!"

"?!" Suddenly, Wendy was cut by a large mass of leaves flying extremely fast from behind her. "How..." Azuma's face then appeared on a tree.

"I don't know if it's meant to represent the 'power of friendship' your guild prides itself upon or if it's just a coincidence, but the roots of these trees are so close to one another that if they were humans, they'd be holding hands or enjoying a nice hug. Because of this, I can go underground to the tip of the roots and touch the ones right next to them to go into a new tree. Like this, I only have to show myself when I'm attacking, making _your _magic useless! 'Sky Priestess!'"

"Shut up! Tenryū no Saiga!" Wendy sent a blast of wind at Azuma's face, but it vanished before it connected and simply destroyed the tree.

"Ramus Sica!" Wendy's left side was then struck with a large amount of branches. "That Dragon Force is letting you take a good number of hits, but let's see how long that defense lasts!" For a good amount of time after that, Wendy kept attacking the trees to no avail while Azuma kept traveling through them underground and attacking her soon after. Wendy's body was covered in blood, cuts, and splinters. Her foot appeared broken, or at least very injured, and several ribs were cracked, as well.

_I can't keep this up... much longer... Dragon Force will only last so long, and it's still another two, three minutes until Jellal arrives. ...Yeah... and he trusted me with five minutes of protection... I can't stop now!_

"'Sky Priestess!'" Azuma's voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. "Earlier... didn't you say 'victory is ensured even before the beginning of the fight?' You are utmost... utmost... utmost... utmost... utmost... utmost... utmost right, indeed~~~~! Only it's my cunning trick, surpassing yours, that ensured my victory! I will now release a full torrent of nature and turn you into compost after cutting you like a birthday cake!" Azuma's face then appeared for Wendy to see, but it wasn't very high off the ground. _What is this? Why do I have such little altitude? _He then started looking around and gained a look of shock as he saw that all of the trees, including his, had become stumps. "Th-this is...?!" He then saw Wendy laughing with her eyes closed and arms crossed.

"For your information... this kind of laughter... arms crossed... eyes shut... is the victory laugh. In the end, Azuma, the reason for your defeat... is your own cockiness..."

"It couldn't be... you..."

"When you said that you were traveling between the trees via the closely positioned roots, it made me realize something: you probably can't see what I'm doing _above _ground while that's happening! Therefore, you wouldn't be able to see me destroying all of the trees in our area of combat!"

_?! She took advantage of my temporary moments of blindness towards everything on the surface to pull off such a trick...?!_

"Next you're going to say, 'I can still move through the stumps faster than you can attack.'"

"I can still move through the stumps faster than you can attack!" Azuma's face then vanished from the stump it was just on.

_But there's another part to this, Azuma. With all of those trees destroyed, there are much less things taking in oxygen over here. That means I can hone in on your breathing rather easily and figure out where you'll be! _"Tenryū no...(Sky Dragon's...)" Wind then began to gather in each of Wendy's hands. She then did a quick about-face and saw Azuma emerging from a stump. "Kōfū(Brilliant Wind)!" Wendy then brought her hands together and blasted Azuma with a large burst of wind, knocking him right onto his back. As Wendy smiled at the success of her attack, she noticed some of her scales starting to peel off.

_I must be at my limit... Dragon Force is starting to wear off... but that's fine... he just needs to stay down until Jellal gets here... just until Jellal... _Wendy's thoughts were suddenly cut off, however, when she saw Azuma suddenly jump to his feet.

"FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're quite something, 'Sky Priestess!' You're really making me try, aren't you?!" Before Wendy could respond to the rhetorical question, Azuma was right in front of her. He then grabbed her petite frame and threw her on top of a stump. Then, using his magic, the roots shot up from the ground and wrapped around her body. "Try finding a way around _this!_" Azuma's right arm then turned into a giant branch with an extremely pointed branch. "Die! Declaration of Buer!" The branch was then thrusted, with incredible speed, directly at Wendy's heart.

* * *

Over where Natsu and Happy were, Natsu, with his super hearing, heard a high-pitched, painful scream.

_What the hell?! _Natsu thought. _Why is Wendy screaming like that?! I haven't heard her scream like this since... since... ...oh no..._ Natsu suddenly remembered the last time he had heard Wendy scream like that: when she had died in the first timeline. _Like hell I'll just let her, or anyone else, die while I'm here! I need to get over to where she is, but..._

"Natsu! On your 6!" Happy yelled from the air. Natsu then did a backflip to avoid an attack from an enemy mage.

_I can't move with these guys around! _Not long ago, Caprico began dropping off the members of Grimoire Heart all around the island, and Natsu was currently too preoccupied with the large number he was facing to go help Wendy.

"That's enough," an approaching voice said, making everyone turn. "Uhah! I said 'that's enough.'"

"Master Zancrow!" A few mages exclaimed.

"You guys are not a match for him. Uheeheeheehee!"

_Suddenly, I feel like keeping my opponent to this large-ass amount of mages..._ Natsu thought.

* * *

Azuma was happy. He had finally killed Wendy Marvell, the annoying little girl who had been acting like _he _was the child. The knowledge that his attack had pierced her heart created an incredible amount of euphoria for him. Then, he looked down at the "corpse."

"...You are kidding me..." He said, seeing that his attack had somehow missed Wendy's heart.

"Not at all..." Wendy said, blood flowing out of her mouth. "Right before you got me, I created an air ball that was small enough to go unnoticed... but dense enough to push your attack far enough to the side... to have it miss my heart..." Wendy then coughed up the red liquid of life.

"How... how can you have so much determination...?"

"Because I'm weak."

"?"

"Everyone I know is stronger than me... better than me, and I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I HATE IT! I shouldn't be the only one that's weak! All I have is the desire to become stronger, but with that, I _will _overcome my powerlessness!" Wendy then started moving her legs with, surprisingly, enough force to make the roots start to break. "As a Fairy Tail mage... as Jellal's partner... as an inheritor of the Marvell name, I will not fall here so easily!" The roots around Wendy's legs then completely snapped as she kicked Azuma's still transformed right arm. "Jinkō Tenryū no Forest Green Overdrive(Artificial Sky Dragon's Forest Green Overdrive)!" Through a crack in the branch created by a cut made earlier, Wendy sent a multitude of air balls into Azuma's arm and made them expand until his arm was blown clean off. She then managed to snap the rest of the roots and get onto her feet.

_If that was her attempt to defeat me, she's-! _Azuma's thoughts were cut short when he saw something around Wendy's body that made him completely stop in his tracks. "A golden... wind...?"

"Furueruzo haato(My quivering heart)! Moetsukiru hodo hiito(Burn with incredible heat)! OOOOH! Kisamu zo, ketsueki no biito(And cut with a bloody beat)! Jinkō Metsu Ryū Ōgi(Artificial Dragon Slayer Secret Technique)! Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!" Wendy then hit Azuma with an incredibly fast barrage of punches that ended with Azuma being sent flying. As soon as he hit the ground, Wendy's Dragon Force completely shattered. _I guess that's all I can do. He'll probably get up from that, but... _As Wendy predicted, Azuma, despite all the damage he had taken, did indeed get up.

"I am... Azuma of Grimoire Heart! This mere pain will not stop me!" He then started to run towards Wendy, who had stopped moving entirely. Right there and then, Azuma's focus was entirely on Wendy. If it was even a little bit divided, he would've noticed what had made Wendy so calm: the sudden appearance of dark clouds in the sky.

"Shin Tentai Mahō: Sēma!" A voice oddly similar to a gay clown's shouted. As it did, a beam of light shot down from the clouds and completely engulfed him. When it faded, the clouds dispersed, and the caster, Jellal, walked onto the scene.

"Unlike you, Wendy hadn't snapped at all during this battle," Jellal said. "Because of that, she could sense me coming and me about to use my spell."

"That's why I stopped fighting you!" Wendy shouted. "That's why I let you come at me!"

"So... you were that sure... Jellal would come for you?" Azuma asked. "You can trust someone that far?" Azuma then suddenly fell over. When the two Fairy Tail mages looked to see why, they saw that his legs had started turning into foliage.

"When a user of the 'Great Tree Arc' is brought to the absolute brink of death, their body transforms into a tree upon their demise," Jellal said. "This battle... is over." Wendy then walked up to Azuma and, for some reason, chopped the ground next to his head with enough force to cause her hand to bleed. She then moved it over Azuma's body and let the blood spill.

"I actually saw some buds on you after I used by Brilliant Wind," Wendy said. "From even then, you had already started to die, but kept prolonging your life through sheer willpower. This probably isn't a painless process, but my blood will at least lower your suffering."

"How dare you!" Azuma yelled. "Do you want to humiliate me? Stop that! I don't want an enemy's pity!"

"'Pity' Did you say 'pity?' In that case, why did you allow Jellal to carry out his plans while you had the upper hand? Was it 'pity?'"

"That was because that man... is a great warrior! I was honoring him! Ha!" Jellal was taken back by the praise he was receiving.

"You're gonna say, 'But then, 'Sky Priestess,' you...'"

"But then! 'Sky Priestess!' You..."

"Exactly! Azuma, fighting is one thing, my anger for you trying to hurt Jellal is another... I also felt that strange need to show you my respect... that blood is my homage to the mage that you are..." Azuma then smiled.

"He he... I am defeated on every level. As a mage, it looks like you put yourself even above me... Wendy Marvell."

_! He said my name! All this time, he had been calling me "Sky Priestess," but just now, he actually said my name! Is this his way of paying homage to me?!_

"Master Azuma!" A large amount of voices yelled. Wendy and Jellal turned to see a group of Grimoire Heart mages. "Kill them!" They then rushed at the two blue-haired mages knowing that neither of them had much magic left.

"Wait! What do you think you're doing?!" Azuma then pulled a root from the ground and, with it, a large tree.

"He's wielding that tree like a bat!" Wendy exclaimed. "He... he still had that much strength...?!"

"You miserable infidels!" Azuma then used the tree to smack all of the mages into the water. When that was done, his arm turned into a branch and the tree fell to the ground.

"Azuma! W... why...?!"

"I, Azuma... am in the service of Master Hades until my last breath, but I will not allow those simpletons to dishonor this. I have definitely not become sentimental. To me, truth belongs to the powerful ones! Justice and friendship to the conquerors... I've only followed my own rules... Wendy. All my life, the state of the world never looked important to me. Only the fact that I could die by staying true to those rules.

"I don't have any regrets... I am sincerely happy to have been able to watch a splendid mage be born. Maybe I roamed my entire life just to meet you. Farewell... Wendy..." Azuma's body became a full tree. He was dead.

Azuma became the earth. The stance Wendy unconsciously took was the "salute..." she didn't shed any tears, but, at that time, resounded a silent martial hymn... A strange friendship...

* * *

Aboard Grimoire Heart's ship, which had almost landed, Hades noticed a potted plant beginning to wilt, making him feel that he had his answer to the question of Azuma's livelihood. He then suddenly remembered a moment in both of their lives.

* * *

"Azuma, kill him!" Hades shouted, pointing to a frightened child.

"But... Master Hades, it's just a young boy," Azuma said.

"A young boy! Indeed... and that is just another reason to kill him. A mage's son could become a lethal enemy, once grown up! Humans can mature in the blink of an eye."

"Uuh..."

"Are you incapable of doing so, Azuma?! ...Very well. If you can't, let me do a demonstration." Hades then materialized a chain and fired it at the child's head. "That's how it's done! Azuma!" We now return to present.

* * *

"Azuma! As a mage, he was much too pure! That was his weakness!" We now return to the island.

* * *

"We should try and head back to the camp," Jellal said.

"Yeah..." Wendy said. "...Thanks for coming when you did, Jellal."

"Thanks for actually beating him."

"What?! N-no! All I did was weaken him! You were the winner of that fight!"

"No, Wendy, all I did was finish him off. Azuma never would've been beaten if it weren't for you. This was, without a doubt, your victory." Tears began to well up in Wendy's eyes.

"You mean... I won...?"

"Yes."

"I beat someone...?"

"Yes."

"I... I... I was able to protect someone...?" At this point, Wendy had lost complete control and started crying a large assortment of tears.

"Yes. It's thanks to you that we can both walk away from here. Thank you for protecting me and creating such a great moment."

"...Ahhhhhh... Ahhhhhhhhhhh...! …! Finally... finally..." Wendy then started to fall over, which Jellal noticed with so much concern that he ran right over to her with Meteor to catch her.

_All this blood...! And her eyes are more glazed over than they were during our training!_

"I was finally... useful..."

_Her pulse... _Wendy's eyes started to close. "Stay with me, Wendy!"

"I didn't make... someone suffer... because I was me..."

"Stay with me, dammit!"

"Are you happy... mom...? Dad...?" Wendy's eyes completely shut and her body became limp. Jellal burst into tears.

"WENDYYYYYYYY~~~!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Next chapter, we finally learn Wendy's back story, but until then, go ahead and throw all of your hate at me for possibly killing Wendy. I can take it! Just don't aim for the face; that's the money maker.**

**Pie: This is the internet. They're not gonna get into a fistfight with you.**

**Fox: A man can dream, though. A man can dream.**

**Pie: Mein gott(A/N: German for "My God"). **

* * *

**Fox: I, FoxOnPie, have a dream to achieve! And that is to have you review!**

**Pie: The next thing you're going to say is "This story's awesome! Here's my review!"**


	40. The Marvell Family Disaster, And Then

**Fox: BEHOLD! The results of insomnia!**

**Pie: Great. Now go to bed. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Spring. X776. Pergrande Kingdom. A Friday. It had been three days since the Marvell family was visited by Daz Love, the man who went under the guise of "Brain" in the shadows. At that point, the troubling meeting had long since left their minds, and the family of three had gone back to their regular routines. Currently, Atmos had left the house to do work over in the next town, so only Wendy and Cait were the only ones home. Wendy was reading a picture book in the living room while her mother prepared a snack of apple slices and peanut butter while singing a song to herself.

"Cha-La Head-Cha-La Egao URUTORA ZETTO de! Kyou mo AIYAIYAIYAIYAI...SUPAAKINGU!" Cait sang, catching Wendy's attention.

"What are you doing, mommy?" Her daughter asked.

"Oh! Don't pay me any mind, Wendy! I wouldn't want you getting distracted by this, I would not!"

"It's fine. I don't know what that song is from, but it doesn't seem very interesting." As they had their little chat, an employee of the shrine suddenly charged into the house.

"Cait-sama! Wendy-sama! We need your help!" The employee said. "Atmos-sama is on the verge of death!"

"What?!" Cait exclaimed.

"Daddy is..." Wendy said.

* * *

On the way to the hospital, Wendy and Cait heard the entire story. On his way to his work for the day, Atmos encountered 42 mercenary mages hired to take him out. Atmos, though, was quite the accomplished mage, and was able to fend them off. The battle was almost won with him having barely even tried, but he was suddenly struck in the back by a dark energy blast of unknown origin. That one attack ruined his concentration and allowed all of the mages who could still fight to land a joint attack on him.

"With all of his injuries, it's a true testament to his strength that he was able to escape and come here," the doctor at the hospital said. That statement couldn't be anything but the truth: eight cuts across his torso, six stab wounds in each leg, seven areas of torn flesh on his arms, a huge burn on his back; Atmos Marvell was truly a strong man.

"Daddy...!" Wendy cried. "Daddy!"

"Doctor! Take Wendy out of here!" Cait said, tying her hair into a ponytail. "I need to heal Atmos immediately!"

"Yes, but shouldn't your daughter, the 'Sky Priestess,' be allowed to assist?" The doctor asked.

"That's not needed."

"'Not needed?!' She has her title because, despite being a child, her healing abilities surpass yours, despite you actually being trained by the sky Dragon!"

"And it is because of that training that I can take care of my own husband even if I'm lacking in talent! If you think otherwise, then you should just go ahead and force me out, should you not?!"

"..."

"Good! Now leave me be!" Cait then began the healing process as the doctor walked Wendy out of the room, the girl still crying for her father. She managed to seal up the wounds, but that couldn't do anything for the majority of the damage, especially since Cait's magic wasn't the strongest.

_It's no good..._ Cait thought to herself. _Too many vital areas, too many deep wounds. If Wendy was here, there'd at least be a fraction of a chance, but realistically..._

"...Cait..." Atmos said weakly, opening his mouth for the first time.

"! Atmos!"

"How's it... looking?"

"..."

"I thought so... you can stop now." Cait slowly stopped her healing spell. "I'm sorry, Cait. If... you had never met me... we wouldn't have had this life together... and you wouldn't have to be feeling any of this right-"

"Don't say that!" Cait yelled, tears rolling down her face. "I could never regret meeting you! I was all alone before I met you! If we never met, then all of the happiness the two... no, the three of us would never have existed, would it not?! Something like that would be horrible, would it not?!"

"...You're right...!" Atmos then started to cry. "How could I wish that our lives never became one...? That Wendy was never born...? Even if it ends so tragically... the memories of what's in the past and Wendy's happiness in the future... they're just as important as both of us living, right...?"

"Atmos!" Cait embraced her dying husband in a tender, tear-drenched embrace. Truly, this would be a satisfactory, touching end to the end of the two lover's intertwined life, but it was disrupted by a little girl barging in, running up to Atmos, and trying to heal him.

"Wendy..."

"Don't die, daddy..." the girl said, crying a river.

"It's too late. The damage has gone past the point of healing."

"Don't die, daddy..."

"I'm sorry, but daddy has to-"

"DON'T DIE, DADDY!" Wendy stopped her healing and threw her head into her father's chest. "I don't want you to die! I only have one daddy! If you break and can't be fixed, I can't get a new one!" Atmos took one arm and wrapped it around Wendy.

"Wendy... I know that it's sad to see a loved one die... but you just have to stay strong... and remember... that I love you, all right...? As long as you remember that... I won't truly be gone... right?" Wendy slowly nodded and continued crying into Atmos' chest.

_This is why I wanted Wendy out of the room..._ Cait thought, crying as well. _Something sad such as this... it would be wrong for such a fragile girl to see it up close, would it not...?_ That afternoon, Atmos Marvell, age 35, died.

* * *

A few days later, Atmos' funeral was held. The attendees were Wendy, Cait, the shrine workers, and as many civilians that could fit in the area of service. Ironic that it was a clear, sunny day when everyone was gathered for something so sad. After the eulogy, everyone lined up to pay their respects at Atmos' open casket. Right now, Wendy was paying hers.

"Daddy..." Wendy started, trying to hold back tears. "You said... you said to 'stay strong and remember that you love me,' right...? I... I can't ever forget how much you cared about me... but how do I be strong... how do I learn to do that without you...?"

"And whose fault is it that he's gone?!" Someone yelled from the crowd. Everyone turned to see that the yeller was a tall man with a black bowl cut and an angry face. "You're asking for his help, but it's _your _fault that he's dead, isn't it?!"

"!"

"Buccellati!" Cait yelled. "What on Earth Land do you think you're saying?!"

"Don't try to fool me, Cait!" Buccellati yelled. "I know for a fact that the 'Sky Priestess' was the last one to try to treat him, but failed! It's because of _her _that Atmos is dead!"

"How dare you! You were my husband's closest friend! You don't possibly think he would want you, of all people, to persecute his daughter, do you not?!"

"...Why not?" Another person asked. "The 'Sky Priestess' is supposed to heal as well as Alice's miracle elixir, right?"

"She assisted in trying to save Atmos-sama, right?" A third person asked.

"But he died anyway, so that makes it _her _fault, right?!" A fourth person yelled.

"That's right!" Buccellati yelled, pointing at Wendy. "It's because of her failure that Atmos had to die! It's her fault! It's her fault!" Soon, a large number of people were chanting "It's her fault!", making Wendy bawl incredibly. Cait was furious that something like this was transpiring, but knew that if she started fighting these people, it would start an all-out brawl with all the fists(or worse) directed at the blue-haired girls. She looked to the shrine workers for help, but they just stood in silence and watched. Not being able to stand being there any longer, Cait took Wendy's hand and walked away from the service after giving Atmos a final glance.

* * *

"What the hell was that?!" Cait yelled, slamming her hand on the kitchen table. It had been a few hours since she and Wendy left the funeral. It was over by now, so Cait was now demanding an explanation for the employees of the shrine(all being represented by two people) letting Wendy be treated in such a way.

"Please try to understand, Cait-sama," one of the men said. "You know as well as I do how highly Atmos-sama was looked upon by the people of this kingdom. Now that he's dead, the hearts of nearly everyone have been thoroughly crushed, meaning that they'll need a way to make themselves feel better. Whenever something like this happens, that method is always carried out either through random destruction... or blaming others."

"So... you're saying... that you intend to make Wendy a martyr... are you not?"

"...It's not the proudest thing we're admitting to," the other men said. "We have no intention of letting Wendy-ojōsama get hurt, but as the current head of this shrine, Cait-sama, you need to understand that what's best for the kingdom is of utmost impor-" The man was cut off by Cait grabbing ahold of his neck and throwing him into the other man.

"I don't give any manner of flying fuck about this kingdom right now! If you think that, as a parent, I'm going to let you use my daughter as a stress-reliever, then there's surely something wrong with your heads, is there not?! My daughter has been through enough, and I won't stand for any ridiculous notions such as that!" The two men then swiftly left, lest they invoke anymore of Cait's wrath.

* * *

Later that night, Cait lay on her couch in sadness over the events of the day.

_Atmos... _Cait thought to herself, _I feel like... something bad is about to happen. If you were here... what would you do? No, there's no point in asking that. You're gone; that's reality. That's... reality. _Cait then noticed Wendy pulling on her sleeve, sat up, brought her daughter next to her, and gave her a hug, pressing her face into the middle of her bosom. _And right now, I need to be here and protect our girl. That, at least, is enough, is it not?_ As Cait took Wendy into her chest with her hug, she heard the sound of a large number of people approaching and cut the human interaction.

"Mommy?" Cait put a finger to Wendy's lips.

"Stay here and stay quiet, okay?" Wendy nodded her head as Cait stood up and walked to the daughter, her daughter not seeing the terrifyingly angry face she bore.

* * *

When Cait had gone outside, the scene before her was exactly what she had feared: a large mass of people with torches being led by Buccellati, currently being eyed down by Cait.

"Hand over Wendy Marvell," Buccellati said.

"I refuse," Cait said.

"She let Atmos die and betrayed all of our faith! We don't need a useless 'Sky Priestess!'"

"Even if she's a useless 'Sky Priestess,' as long as her heart beats, she has use as a person, does she not?! If you want to get to her, you must go through me!"

"...So be it." Buccellati jumped at Cait to deliver a punch, but she easily dodged it.

"Tenryū no Gaichō(Sky Dragon's Victorious Bird)!" Cait kicked the air and released a blast of wind at Buccellati in the shape of a bird. Buccellati, however, punched the ground and produced a large zipper. When it was unzipped, an incredibly large space was created, allowing him to jump in and avoid the attack. After the wind bird crashed into a wall, the zipper unzipped and Buccellati jumped out. "Tch! That 'Sticky Fingers' is rather convenient for escapes, isn't it?"

"Not just for escapes, also for attacks!" He then waved his arm and made the zipper extend to under Cait's feet right before he made it unzip, causing Cait to fall into the empty space. "I'll rezip it at your waste and cancel my magic, thereby cutting you in two! Arrivederci!" The zipper then started to close, but Cait was able to surround herself in a giant air bubble and stop it from closing. "What?!"

"Is that all you have, Buccellati?" Cait asked as she floated up into the air while in the bubble. "You dare try to oppose me with such meager magic?!" A coil made of wind then shot out of the bubble and tied up Buccellati's legs and slammed him into the ground repeatedly. "This stupidity is over!" A giant barrier of wind then suddenly formed. "Metsu Ryū Ōgi. Shōha Tenkū-" Before Cait could finish her attack, though, she saw, through the barrier, Wendy standing in the doorway. "Wendy!" She dispelled all of her magic and landed on the ground. "What are you doing here?! I told you to stay inside!"

"But..." Wendy started, "I was worried... and-!" At that moment, Wendy saw a truly horrible sight: she saw her mother, the only family she had left, being stabbed in the chest with a stone dagger by a man coming out of the ground wearing a mud brown full body suit with stitches all over it.

"Hahahahaha!" The man laughed, now fully out of the ground that Buccellati got up from and Cait's lifeless body now fell to. "I got her! I got the bitch!" The crowd cheered for this event. "Alright, Buccellati! Take out the little bitch!"

"..." was Buccellati's response.

"Hey! Don't zone out now!"

_Mommy...?_ Wendy thought to herself.

"You're the one who wanted to kill her for your friend, right?!"

_You're getting up... right?_

"How can you get cold feet now?!"

_You won't leave me alone... right? Daddy just left, so you doing the same is too cruel... right? Right?_ Despite these thoughts, nothing could change the reality of right then. Cait Marvell, age 29, mother to Wendy Marvell and wife to the late Atmos Marvell, was dead.

"Fine! If you won't do it..." The man in the full body suit then went inside the ground and reappeared right in front of Wendy, "then I, Secco, shall kill the false 'Sky Priestess!'" He appeared to be preparing an attack, but was stopped when he was taken back by a teary-eyed Wendy releasing a very loud scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Then, bursts of wind in the form of giant beams, blades, balls, and all sorts of weaponry, appeared in the air and started flying throughout the sky, hitting buildings, animals, trees, and people, both those involved with the riot and those who were just passing by or relaxing comfortably in their homes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm weak! I'm pathetic! I'm useless! But... but... don't leave me!" A giant twister then erupted that rampaged across the area. When it subsided, the mob was gone, and Wendy had fallen to her knees, crying out for the parents she knew would never talk to her again.

The next day, the sky Dragon Grandeeney appeared to take Wendy under her care; as Cait's foster mother, she had nothing but absolute guilt over not helping in this tragedy, since Dragons weren't allowed to get directly involved with human affairs. Wendy initially didn't want to, making Grandeeney force her into getting on top of her so she could be flown away, but Wendy would soon learn that that was a wise decision. Soon after that fateful night, the media reported that Wendy was killed by a mob of crazed Atmos supporters and her mother, in a fit of rage, destroyed the town Wendy lived in at the cost of her remaining life. Wendy didn't know why they reported it like that, but this event would soon be referred to as "The Marvell Family Disaster."

* * *

The scenery then completely changes. It is completely black, but the people there aren't falling into an abyss, so there's some kind of floor. Two lights slowly appear and shine into the void. One reveals a large Viewing Lacrima, the other reveals present day Wendy Marvell.

"About a month after all of that, Grandeeney learned that 'Brain,' Daz Love, was behind all of it," Wendy said. "He made up a job to get my dad out of town, hired mages to attack him, shot him in the back during that battle, and convinced Buccellati that I needed to be blamed. He thought that if I had fallen into absolute despair, it would be easy to bring me into the Oración Seis, but Grandeeney took me away before he could return. If she hadn't come when she did, I probably would be gone with Daz Love... Grandeeney's a good grandmother." Wendy then turned to face directly behind her. "Was there a reason that we just watched this..."

"Bernkastel," a voice said. A new light then broke into the darkness to reveal a person sitting at a small table while drinking red wine. It was a young looking girl with long steel-blue hair, emotionless purple eyes, and medium-sized breasts. She wore a black and white Gothic Lolita dress with a blue ribbon, black shoes, and white socks. Also, she seems to have a cat tail with a blue ribbon tied on it. "Frederica Bernkastel. I'd prefer it if you stuck with my last name, though." She then took a sip of her wine.

"Bernkastel-san, why did we just watch that?"

"Isn't it appropriate to watch your life flash before your eyes when you die?"

"...I see... so I'm dead, then?"

"No."

"Huh? But you just said your life flashes before your eyes when you die, right?"

"Did I say _you _died, though?"

"No, but it was implied."

"And the fact that you both believed me _and _that it was merely illustrates your stupidity."

_The f*ck?!_ "Why is any of this even happening?"

"..." Bernkastel put down her glass. "You caught my eye."

"That's it?"

"'That's it?' I get bored rather easily, so for your story to 'catch my eye' is an honor."

"It is?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"But you just-!" Wendy was using all of her strength to resist the urge to choke this girl. "What do you mean when you say it 'caught your eye?'"

"...I am known by many as the 'Witch of Miracles;' at the cost of my own heart, I can bring forth a miracle from a seemingly hopeless situation. However, miracles aren't born from simply flailing my arms around; those who would benefit from them need to have a strong enough belief to make the possibility of it come true, even if that possibility is practically zero. You, Wendy Marvell, made a miracle happen by defeating Azuma of Grimoire Heart, and it is because of the interestingness of that that I have been drawn to this world, this Kakera(Fragment)." Wendy was now staring at Bernkastel very intensely. "You're waiting for me to make some sort of joke, aren't you?"

"Yes." Bernkastel flicked the cork for the wine bottle at Wendy's forehead. "..._Ow!_"

"Do you want to have lived, or do you want to have died?"

"Huh? I want to have lived, obviously!"

"...In that case, walk into that light." The mysterious girl pointed at an emerging light. In said light were Wendy's parents, whose forms she hadn't seen since the day Cait Shelter disappeared.

"Mom? Dad?"

"In actuality, you died today. Therefore, if you lived, you would be fated to die in that last battle, giving you the chance to be with your beloved parents once more."

"My... parents..."

"If you choose to have died, though... I can't guarantee what will happen; only the first choice has absolute certainty." Bernkastel was sure a blond-haired girl was sneezing when she mentioned "absolute certainty." "What will it be?"

"..." Wendy began walking towards her parents. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. Five steps. Six steps. Seven steps, the halfway point, approximately. It was here that Wendy stopped walking. "Mom... Dad... I never got the chance to say this to either of you, but now I do... 'GOODBYE(A/N: She says this in English)'" Wendy turned around and started walking to a new light.

"...You're passing on your beloved family? Didn't you want more than anything to be with them again?"

"I did, but recently, I realized that I've been using my parents as a crutch by burdening them with the job of watching out for me while they're dead. We're in two different worlds now... the time for me to rely on them is over. Besides, it's not like I'll be completely lonely without them." As soon as Wendy said that, thoughtforms of all the people she had met since that fateful Halloween day appeared at her sides. "I still have people who love me and want to protect me in this world, and I'm able to love and protect them, too! Stuff like that is better used with the living than the dead, right?" A blue-haired male then took ahold of Wendy's hand.

"Shall we go?" He asked.

"Yeah!" She replied with a smile. Wendy and all the manifestations walked into the light and disappeared. Now, Bernkastel was alone. She poured her glass completely full, stared at it briefly, and threw it to the ground in apparent anger.

"What the hell was that?" Bernkastel asked no one. "Was the power of friendship really being used here? I thought the author was trying to avoid that in order to be set apart from other writers, including the original writer who claims to be more deceitful than I. This was such a boring ending... but it's alright, for now. I can't really do anything about it, what with my vague introduction, and all." She then turned towards where the light was and gave a disturbing smile. "Just remember, Wendy... I am the cruelest of all witches. As soon as you, and by extension, your friends, begin to bore me, I won't hesitate to kill you all. In that case, you shouldn't make me get bored, right...?" Bernkastel then started giggling as all of the light faded from the area.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Bern: That was incredibly boring.**

**Fox: What?! How did you get in this place?!**

**Bern: Fuck you, that's how.*Fox hangs head in depression***

**Pie: I like her already.**

**Bern: Don't get close to me, you diabetes-inducing moron.*Pie hangs head in depression* Anyway, I have decided to join the two of you to try and turn this story around.**

**Fox: It doesn't need turning around! We're doing just fine!**

**Bern: Really? Tell me how many reviews you have.**

**Fox: Of course! We have 69!**

**Bern: …*Walks into bathroom and shuts the door. Weird noises can be heard while she's in there.**Exits bathroom***

**Pie: Did you go in there to laugh at 69?**

**Bern: No.**

**Pie: You totally-*Bern pulls out a scythe* ...Never mind. **

**Bern: Anyway, we should be much more successful and have many more reviews and such, don't you think? **

**Fox: It's not my fault!**

**Bern: ...You're right. It's the reader's fault.**

**Fox: Yes. ...I MEAN, NO!*Bern glares at Fox* I mean, um, it's **_**technically **_**their fault, since they're not all reviewing, favoriting, and following, but doing those things are completely optional; it's not really a bad thing if they don't do them!**

**Bern: If it's not bad, then there's no harm in doing it, right? The whole process of doing all three takes, like, 10 seconds.**

**Fox: Stop saying things like that! You're gonna make people mad!**

**Pie: Let's just end it here, already.**

**Bern: Why are we taking orders from a pastry?**

* * *

**Bern: If you don't review, favorite, and follow... I'll get bored. You wouldn't like me when I'm bored.**

**Fox: You're here, too?!(P.S. Tell me what you think of me bringing in elements of **_**Umineko. **_**I wanna know if this is a hit or miss for you all)**


	41. Eternal Bond

**Bern: So, The German City, you say that you hate my guts, eh? Normally I would kill you for something like that, but I'll make an exception under one condition: go to Hinamizawa, find a green-haired girl with ridiculously large melons, and say that her boyfriend is a pathetic sack of-**

**Fox: DISCLAIMER TIME! **

* * *

**Bern: You all know that we don't own anything besides the OCs, right? Good. Disclaimer over.**

**Fox: So short!**

**Bern: Problem?*Pulls out scythe***

**Fox: No! No problem here!**

**Pie: Aye! **

* * *

Wendy awoke in a daze. The first thing she noticed was that, obviously, she was alive. The second thing she noticed was that she was in a bed in the medical tent. The third thing she noticed was her left in a cast. The fourth thing she noticed was Porlyusica, the old lady who smelled and sounded just like Grandeeney, sitting in the corner, reading a book, not looking very interested in the fact that Wendy was up. The fifth thing she noticed was a little white cat giving her a powerful hug.

"Carla..." Wendy said.

"Just shut up for a second, Wendy," Carla said. "I know that you don't like me worrying about you so much... truthfully, I probably could loosen up a little... but no one's more important to me than you are! You can be as independent as you want, but I'm still allowed to be concerned, got it?!" Wendy simply nodded with a smile and let Carla cry into her chest. After a few minutes, she stopped and got onto the floor. "Make sure to get better now, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Wendy sighed. "But still, it's amazing that I got out of that one. I was certain that I was gonna die."

"You did die," Porlyusica said, putting down her book and joining in.

"...What."

"You were legally dead for seven minutes on the dot. It truly is a miracle that you're alive."

"I was... dead? ...NO WAY! I can't believe I actually died! No, what's even more surprising is that I'm alive right now! I know that, on LV(Lacrima Vision), there are a lot of shows where a character can come back to life if he/she gets treated really fast, but I never knew that that was legit! What's going to happen to me, now?! Can I see dead people?! Will my power level be over 9000?!"

_Same old Wendy, _Carla thought in the midst of Wendy's freakout.

"Ah! Wait a minute! If I died, then does that mean..."

"Don't worry, we already changed your pants."

"Phew." Wendy was able to relax a little knowing that she now wore clean underwear. After all, you do shit yourself when you die. "Wait... what's this?!" Wendy then lifted up her shirt and saw what she felt: bandages. "I'm like a mummy or something!"

"Those needed to be used," Porlyusica said. "Several of your ribs were damaged, and one attack left a scar going diagonally from the far left side of your collarbone to right below your left breast."

_Azuma's last attack... _"So you're saying... I have a Badass Scar?!" She exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes.

"Um... yes?"

"Wafuu~!" Wendy exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air. "But still, I'm just glad to be alive. It's truly miraculous, right?" _I'll have to thank Bernkastel-san if I ever see her again. _Wendy's attention then switched over to something that hadn't caught her eye before. "Is that... a drip chamber? Why is that here?"

"...To be honest, I really only planned on having to deal with some cuts and sprains and a broken bone or two while I was here; I didn't bring anything that could fully help in the state you were in, Wendy. So, while I was able to close all of your wounds, you still needed a blood transfusion to survive."

"'Blood transfusion?!' But _I _don't even know my blood type!"

"Apparently, that didn't matter," Carla said. "'That guy' apparently had O- blood, so he was able to donate, regardless of what blood you had."

"Really?"

"But he was in a real panic when your heart stopped beating," Porlyusica said. "When I said you needed the transfusion, he cut his arm open and told me to use his blood right then and there. What an idiot; and here I thought he stood out amongst the rest of this guild."

"Um... this guy you're talking about..." Wendy started, thinking back to when she was in that mysterious place with Bernkastel and a certain man held her hand(A/N: Originally, I wrote "blue man," but that was a mistake that has now been changed to "blue-haired man"), "is he... was he..." Wendy suddenly heard footsteps approaching the tent.

"Here he comes now," Carla said. "Your 'savior' who took a walk to clear his head." Then, the man Carla and Porlyusica were talking about entered the tent, the bandage around his left arm telling Wendy that what they were saying was true.

"Jellal..." She said, looking straight into his eyes. "It really was you. You... you really did save-" Before she could finish, though, Wendy was cut off by Jellal initiating a powerful embrace.

"I'm sorry, Wendy...!" Jellal said. "Even though... even though I promised that... 'as long as I'm here, nothing bad will happen to you,' you still... you still...!" Wendy gave him a pat on the back.

"It's alright, Jellal. It's alright."

"No, it's not! I should have tried harder to keep you safe! After all, you're... you're... you're my precious daughter, after all~!" The females in the tent were understandably surprised. Carla was even going over Wendy and Jellal's ages in her head to see if he actually could've fathered her.

"Wh... what?"

"All this time, Wendy, I've been trying to figure out exactly what our relationship was... why I cared about you so much. When your life faded away in my arms, I instantly understood. I... I... I love you as if you were my daughter! Wendy Marvell!" Wendy was completely shocked. She had no idea how to respond to this. Or, at least, that's what she thought originally. But after a few seconds of thought, she came to the realization of _her _feelings for Jellal

"I... I always thought that I could only have one dad... I still feel like that."

"..."

"But..." Wendy now started crying, "I can still love you like one, right?" She then gave Jellal a hug of her own.

"Wendy...!" Jellal then strengthened his hug and started to cry as well, which, in turn, made the usually stern women in the room start to tear up.

_Something like this is fine, I suppose, _Carla thought.

_It's moments like these that make humans a little tolerable, _Porlyusica thought. It was then and there that Jellal and Wendy's bond was given a final shape: the shape of a bond shared between a father and child; a truly eternal bond.

* * *

Meanwhile, away from all the fluff, Natsu was battling the flame God Slayer Zancrow and, surprisingly, things were even between the two of them.

"Uhee!" Zancrow laughed. "Is this all you got? What happened to that rookie Wizard Saint the whole continent got head over heels about?"

"He's right here!" Natsu yelled, giving Zancrow an uppercut. Zancrow, though, was relatively unfazed as he gave Natsu a punch to the stomach that sent him flying, though he managed to land on his feet.

"Natsu!" Happy yelled.

"I'm fine!" _Even with my training, this guy's tough! Well, he's not a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory for nothing... !_ Natsu's ears suddenly picked up the voice of a familiar blue-haired Otaku. _Wendy... you're alright, then? _Natsu then gave a little smirk.

"What's so damn funny?!" Zancrow yelled. "Enjin no Kagutsuchi!" He released a blast of black fire towards Natsu.

"Karyū no Kōen!" Natsu performed a similar attack, but as soon as the two made contact, Zancrow's flames were destroyed and he was blown back by the fire.

"What the hell?!" Zancrow yelled, getting up. "You weren't this strong a second ago! Where's this power coming from?!"

"Nowhere, really. One of my friends needed medical help, so I wasn't able to fully concentrate, is all. But now she's alright, so I'm fired up to fight for real!"

"Is that right? Well let's just see how you do against a God! Uheeheehee!"

* * *

In what appeared to be ruins, Cana and Lucy were holding their own against some enemies when they suddenly vanished.

"They're gone!" Lucy exclaimed.

"First they rain, then they vanish..." Cana commented, "they're quite busy guys."

"They don't have what it takes to defeat you," a voice said, making Cana and Lucy turn to see Caprico standing atop a pillar. "It would just be a waste of time. Your opponent shall be meh."

"A goat?!"

_Wait... _Lucy thought to herself. _Is he..._

* * *

In another part, Erza and Juvia had run into the mage going by the name of Meredy.

"I have met the enemy during my mission," Meredy said. "I will exterminate them immediately. Their annihilation has now been changed to the prime directive. Now starting... battle..."

"A kid?" Juvia asked.

"Don't underestimate her," Erza said. "I can feel some weird magic." "Titania" geared up for battle, but as she did, she saw that the ground appeared to be sinking around Meredy's feet. _That's odd. She doesn't look like an earth mage, and she definitely isn't fat. What's causing that, then?_

* * *

Over at some more ruins, Elfman and Evergreenran into Rustyrose who, now that Azuma was dead, was the strongest member of the Kin.

"The daemons and fairies met in a lonely forest," Rustyrose said. "This is our battle point."

"What _is _this guy?" Elfman asked. "Is he a man... or a fruit...?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Evergreen asked. "He's an 'idiot.'" Meanwhile, in a secluded part of the forest.

* * *

"Wh... Wh-wh... why isn't there anyone here?" Kain Hikaru asked to no one. "WWW... Woo-Wee!" Meanwhile, by Tenrou Tree.

* * *

"So I'm alone, am I?" Bluenote asked to no one. "Without people to talk to, it could be harder to find 'Fairy Glitter.' Though, this _is _the centerpiece of the island; it'd be a good guess to say that Mavis' grave is around here..."

* * *

"So... you were holding back, eh?" Hades asked to no one while aboard the ship. "If that's true, then this is Zancrow's loss. No matter," he then poured himself a glass of wine. "Even if all of the Kin _and _Bluenote go down, anyone who could still move, save for Makarov, would be too weak to put up a fight. Makarov cannot defeat me, and I will surely be able to crush any number of his brats without even breaking a swea-" Hades then suddenly sensed something disturbing, causing him to drop his glass and make it shatter. "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... that means that other magic from before was... Natsu Dragneel, does you bearing Mavis' title actually hold true merit?!"

* * *

"Do you really want to waste your time on that fairy trash?" A voice asked Caprico.

"? Who is talking to meh?" Caprico asked.

"This voice..." Lucy started. "It can't be!" Then, from seemingly nowhere, a large man with a long nose and a "Sports Max" on his chest appeared.

"Jiemma of the Wizard Saints!"

"A Wizard Saint?!" Cana asked.

"Come," Jiemma said. "I shall be your opponent."

* * *

"He may be an idiot," a voice said, "but he looks too tough for you to handle, woof." Then, a yellow dog with a "Sports Max" on his back and a collar bearing the Wizard Saints medallion appeared in-between the soon-to-be combatants. "How 'bout I play fetch with him for you, woof?"

"A dog?" Rustyrose asked, not knowing that the dog was the Wizard Saint Spot.

* * *

As Bluenote prepared to look for the grave, a bubble floated by him and popped, causing the words, "The grave isn't here." to be heard. Bluenote turned around and saw that a man wearing a cloak and the Wizard Saint medallion was before him. The man then held up a bubble wand and blue a bubble that soon popped.

"I can tell you where it is, though. That is... if you beat me," was said by Klaus' bubble.

"A Wizard Saint, eh?" Another bubble was blown, releasing a message that was coincidentally said at the same time as Jiemma and Spot: "Shall we get started?"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Bern: What an interesting twist. The Fairy Tail we're familiar with would never ask for outside help, and yet Natsu's enlisted the assistance of all of the Wizard Saints. If the readers couldn't see a difference between this Fairy Tail and the original before, they should definitely see one now.**

**Fox: Yep! So what are your thoughts on Jellal and Wendy?**

**Bern: Don't have a lot, but isn't their relationship being that a bit odd?**

**Fox: Not really. Naruto thinks of Iruka as a dad, and there's only a ten-year difference between them.**

**Pie: But Iruka said he only thinks of Naruto as a brother, didn't he?**

**Fox: Yes, but as a fan, I have employed the power of fanon discontinuity and ignored that. It's the same thing I did to ignore Madoka calling Homura a friend in the series finale; after all, those two girls were in love, and if they had the chance, they would've*insert dirty lesbian sex metaphor here*.**

**Bern: As much as I **_**love **_**talking about lesbian sex(I actually do), we still have a bit of crap to get out of the way, right?**

**Fox: Yes... and it's not crap! **

* * *

**Wendy: FAIRY CHANNEL! That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! Welcome to another episode of **_**Fairy Channel. **_**Has everyone been doing well? I'm Wendy Marvell, always running atr 120%! Today-**

**Fox: Pumpkin! Just kidding! I'm the assistant, FoxOnPie.**

**Wendy(In deep voice): Hey.**

**Fox: What?*Gets kicked by Wendy***

**Wendy: Don't interrupt me!**

**Fox: I'm sorry!**

**Wendy: This isn't a kiddy ride. Learn the job, already. Do you want to be left in the dust by the other writers?**

**Fox: I'm terribly sorry! I'll work hard! I'll give it my all!**

**Wendy(In her normal voice): Okay!*Winks* For today... ta-da! We have big news for everyone! As of yesterday, we have over 70 reviews! To think that we've already received*Puts a big box full of postcards on the table* **_**this **_**many reviews from everyone! It's all thanks to me!**

**Fox: Uh... I think there was another person involved in all of that...**

**Wendy: Thanks for all the feedback! Wendy's filled with joy-py!**

**Fox: I don't think anyone's going to understand a joke from the eighties...**

**Wendy: Then I'll read one of the newest reviews we've gotten. Like this.*Pulls out a postcard* Um... this is from a Mr. JustSomeOne29 in Italy. "Oh, damn, I started reading your story yesterday, I read only 3 chapters...I should not review right now, but if I don't you'll get bored, so here is my review: Cool story. It's lame, I know."**

**Fox: A new fan, huh... **

**Wendy: That's wonderful! That's right. The gaining of new fans is a writer's life! If this story keeps getting them... it might look lovely...**

**Fox: No ifs or buts about it. Isn't it impossible to ensure that we get them...*Sees Wendy giving off a glare with her feet on the table* Huh?!**

**Wendy(In deep voice): But you know. He said he "only read three chapters." **

**Fox: Wendy. It's gonna show.**

**Wendy: But only one review...**

**Fox: It's really gonna show. Like if you just twitch!**

**Wendy: That's a real pain. And frankly, that method isn't in style right now. Guys run their mouths off about liking stories with reviews in the triple digits...**

**Fox: Uh... you're talking about yourself now.**

**Wendy: ...but do they have any idea how many gallons of milk, hours of exercise, and implant surgeries they would take to maintain?**

**Fox: Uh... you're not in character anymore. You're no longer Wendy.**

**Wendy: And nobody ever notices you if your reviews can't be used to hold your cash or cigarettes...**

**Fox: Are you listening? Hello?*The theme music goes off* **

**Wendy(In her normal voice): Wha?! It's already time to say goodbye! As for what you can do to show your support for **_**FTR, **_**you can just write a review below or add us to your favorites and follows! Hope to see you!*Winks**Waves her hands* Both hands will be waiting! I made a funny!**

**Fox: Then please look forward to next time.*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): What was with the attitude?**

**Fox: By "attitude," you mean...**

**Wendy: Why did you keep cutting in? That upset about getting burned in the beginning?**

**Fox: No! Just that... I figured no one would recognize "joy-py" now...**

**Wendy: Ah?**

**Fox: Eh?**

**Wendy: Ah? **

**Fox: Forgive me. Uh... Why don't we start over again? **

**Wendy: You know?**

**Fox: Yes?**

**Wendy: I heard this one guy wants a **_**Fairy Tail **_**time travel fic written.**

**Fox: Seriously?! This is the first time I've heard about it!**

**Wendy: You can go do it if you want.**

**Fox: Do it? Me? **

**Wendy: Good for you.**

**Fox: But I'm already doing one!**

**Wendy: Heh? What?**

**Fox: What?*Screen fades to black* **

* * *

**Bern: You know the drill. Review. Favorite. Follow. #RFF #Don't Be Lazy**

**Fox: She's kinda mean.**

**Pie: Yeah...**

**Fox: And it's weird that she's already a member of our group.**

**Pie: Yeah...**

**Bern: Problem?**

**Fox and Pie: NO!**


	42. The Saints' Charge

**Fox: Here we are! The climactic climax of the battle against Grimoire Heart!**

**Pie: Full speed ahead!**

**Bern: ...Let's just do it. **

* * *

**Bern: You all know that we don't own anything besides the OCs, right? Good. Disclaimer over. **

* * *

On Tenrou Island, the battle between the fairies and daemons was approaching its end with the strongest enforcers of light going against the strongest enforcers of darkness. Natsu was up against Zancrow and Erza and Juvia were about to start fighting Meredy. Elsewhere, though, the other members of the Kin and Bluenote were given unexpected opponents in the forms of none other than the Wizard Saints of the Symphonia Continent. On a boat not too far off the shore, a young-looking Chairman was seeing this all through conveniently placed Lacrima and enjoying it greatly.

"Man oh man this is awesome!" Absoliutus cheered. "The strongest members of Grimoire Heart against some of the strongest mages in the continent! This'll be great! Lahar-san! Doranbolt-san! Fuyu-san! How do you think these battles will go? You think another good guy will die like Wendy-kun did?!"

"Sir, since we're apparently just acting as a holding cell and nothing more, this doesn't seem very appropriate..." Lahar said with a sweat drop.

"You shouldn't be asking for death with such enthusiasm..." Doranbolt said, also with a sweat drop.

"Also, Wendy-chan was only dead for seven minutes..." Fuyu said, satisfying the rule of three with her own sweat drop.

"WHAT?!" The Chairman cried. "No fair! The good guys _never _die if their in Fairy Tail! Battles are more interesting when there are casualties on each side! What's so interesting about a one-sided brawl?!"

_If I don't shut him up, he'll be like this all day... ! _"Sir! Did you forget that Erza's battling?"

"That's right! Even if Erza-san slaughters someone, she does it in a super sexy manner! Where's her battle?!" The Chairman, completely over the fact that Wendy didn't stay dead, went to look for the screen displaying Erza's battle to satisfy his perverted nature.

_That should hold him. ...Now that this genius thinks about it... if all of the Kin and that Bluenote guy have opponents already... where are Jura and HaōBaō?_

* * *

"Hey... Jura..." HaōBaō, whose medallion was now attached to his diamond necklace, started.

"Yes?" Jura, now having his medallion attached to his mantle, asked.

"The two of us... we're Wizard Saints, right?"

"Yes."

"We're two of the strongest mages in the continent, right?"

"That's a misconception, but most likely."

"Then... why are we stuck fighting small fry?!" This was true. While the other Saints were fighting the strongest members of Grimoire Heart, Jura and HaōBaō were stuck fighting a large mass of grunts. "I'm a king, dammit! I deserve better than this!"

"Now, now..."

"It's 'Iron Rock' Jura!" One mage said. "'Iron Rock' Jura and... some other guy."

"'Some other guy?!'" HaōBaō repeated with anger. "I am the great HaōBaō! I am the king of the island nation of Caelum! I have become world famous for discovering thousands of rare magics and mastering hundreds myself! I'm one of the most important people in the world, and you shall respect my authority! Let's raise some hell! Totsuka-no-Tsurugi(Ten-hands Long Sword)!" HaōBaō quickly drew his nodachi to reveal its sky blue blade with what appeared to be black lightning shooting out of it. "Ame-no-Habakiri(Slash of Heavenly Wings)!" The king slashed the air and sent bolts of black lightning at his and Jura's opponents, zapping them with tremendous force.

"Yeah... looks like you got this one..." Jura said, sitting down by a tree.

"Good! I'm too pissed off by these simpletons to work with someone, anyway!"

* * *

"You honestly think you can beat me?" Zancrow asked Natsu. "I'll admit that you're not half bad and can throw a punch, but actually _winning _is out of the question. You may be able to kill a dragon, but you can't kill a god! UHEEHEEHEE!" As Zancrow laughed maniacally, Natsu ran up to him and delivered a dragon suplex. "Sonova~~~" Zancrow's body became covered in black flames, making Natsu let go and jump back. "Enjin no Kuroi Usagi(Flame God's Black Rabbit)!" Zancrow formed a large scythe with his fire and took a swing at Natsu.

"Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka!" Natsu materialized his flame blade and blocked Zancrow's attack. The two then swung their weapons repeatedly, each one stopping the other from connecting. Natsu tried to do a forward thrust, but Zancrow jumped and initiated a jumping slash. "Yeah, right! Jōkaku Enjō(Fortress Blaze)!" A large flame shot out from the Ryūjin Jakka that created a sphere of flame around Natsu, completely blocking Zancrow's attack.

"Dammit!" Zancrow then performed a multitude of slashes to try and break open the sphere, and even made a few cracks, but as soon as the cracks appeared, Natsu's arm broke through it, grabbed the scythe, and used it to throw Zancrow through the air. The barrier then vanished, allowing the God Slayer to see Natsu crossing his arms and summoning six flaming ankhs.

"Crossfire Hurricane Special!" The ankhs flew at Zancrow and completely engulfed him in fire as he fell to the ground.

"This weak flame... ain't nothing!" The fire from the Crossfire Hurricane Special flew into Zancrow's mouth, indicating that he was eating it as he got back on his feet. "A God's flames are on a completely different level than a Dragon's flames! My flames don't burn... they are flare halberds that destroy everything! Enjin no Dogō!" Zancrow fired a giant blast of black fire at Natsu, but to his surprise, Natsu ate it all like it was regular fire. "What?!"

"Alright, Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"Did a God _really _use these flames once?" Natsu asked, wiping his mouth. "They taste _awful!_ If I put this in my full course menu, Toriko and the other Heavenly Kings would laugh at me!"

"But... but that's impossible! My flames can't be eaten by you! Unless... did you nullify your own magic in order to eat mine?!" Zancrow asked.

"'Nullify my own magic?' The fuck you talkin' about?! Does something like that even _begin _to make sense at all?"

"Now that I think about it... it doesn't."

"That's right. 'Nullify my own magic...' come on, man! That's just dumb!"

"Then what _did _you do?!"

"Nothing. I just ate it like I would any flame."

"Liar! These flames can only be eaten by another God Slayer!"

"...You've heard of Hamrio Musica, right?"

"The Rave Warrior who founded Musica Weaponry? What about him?"

"In the year 0067, he, together with his first love, Demon Card's Reina, fought Ogre, leader of the Onigami Forces. They were both powerful Silver Claimers, but Ogre had an edge because he was a Gold Claimer, a person who could manipulate metal even stronger than silver. All hope seemed lost, but Musica did the impossible, saw the invisible, touched the untouchable, and broke the unbreakable by controlling Ogre's gold!"

_! I don't know what's more surprising, that story, or him quoting that song!_

"And do you know what he said at that moment?! 'In the end, it's all the same, isn't it? If you just apply a little strength, you can do anything!' That applies here, as well! Fire is fire, so I can eat any of your attacks so long as I got the strength for it!" Natsu then stabbed the ground with his sword. "Ennetsu Jigoku(Torridity Hell)!" A giant pillar of flame shot up from right below Zancrow.

"Like this will do anything to me!" He then opened his mouth to eat it, but he found that the flame wouldn't go into his mouth. "I can't eat it! Impossible!"

"The opposite of that quote is also true. If you're too weak, you can't do a damn thing. Looks like I'm too hot for ya."

"UHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The pillar then vanished, leaving only a heavily burned Zancrow.

"You can still stand, eh?" Natsu asked, dematerializing his Ryūjin Jakka. "At this point, though, a good punch will finish the job." Natsu then ran towards his opponent, but came to a halt when Zancrow yelled "ENOUGH!"

"All of you fairies are beneath me! I am a God, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by-" Natsu grabbed his leg, picked him up, and kept slamming him into the ground until he lost consciousness. The Dragon Slayer then walked away from his opponent with Happy right behind him.

"Puny God."

* * *

"Come now, goat," Jiemma started, "_surely _an opponent such as I would provide a much more satisfactory battle."

"Let's go, Lucy," Cana said.

"What?!" Lucy exclaimed. "But that goat guy is-"

"If we stay here, we'll just get in Jiemma's way! Besides, the sooner all of these guys are down, the sooner I can become S-Class!"

"...Right." Cana and Lucy then started running from the scene.

"Wait..." Caprico started, "is that girl..." Before he could finish, Jiemma summoned a powerful wind that blew Caprico into a wall. He then quickly emerged from the rubble and kneed Jiemma in the stomach, but found that it did nothing.

"Try my back next time," Jiemma said. "I have a giant knot there." Jiemma attempted to take a swing at him, but the goat man quickly jumped away and distanced himself.

_How is he this strong?! Shouldn't my magic be weakening him?! No, it must be... I'm just letting him being a Saint intimidate me, is all! _"Open! Hero of Rubengard, San Jiao Shin!" A warrior holding a spear appeared from thin air and ran to slash Jiemma.

"Ten Hoeru(Heavenly Bark)." Jiemma held up one hand and fired a blast of wind from it that destroyed San Jiao Shin in an instant.

"In one blow?! O-Open! Hunter of Belparaso, Samagui!" An archer appeared, but he was dealt with in the same manner as the spearman. "Tch! If one won't work, how about five?!" Five armor-clad knights appeared and rushed Jiemma, but he crushed the heads of two with his bare hands, threw one at another with so much force that he broke through the other's chest, and summoned a wind blade to slice the last one in half.

"I let that brat Natsu talk me into coming here because he said there would be strong opponents, but if this is what we're dealing with, I might be able to deal with you all on my own."

_! ! ! This man... he's terrifying~~~!_ "Why?! Why are you so strong?! My Human Subordination magic is supposed to make all humans weak!"

"Is that right? That explains why I feel a little sluggish."

"'A little sluggish?!' Wait... that magic... that nose... your resistance to the magic used by meh... are you... half sentinoid?!"

"...What of it?"

"So that's it... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Something funny, goat?"

"Yes, actually. I actually find it quite hilarious that they'd give such an important title as Wizard Saint to a _monster._"

"...Monster..."

"Now your _monstrous _strength makes sense."

"...Monster..."

"And now that I think about it, you're probably only a Saint so the other little _monsters_ will be able to have _something _to be proud of! But still, this is quite affable! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Did you... call me... a monster~~?!" A giant wind blew from Jiemma. It wasn't strong enough to knock Caprico down, but it sent an important message to his brain, he was royally fucked.

"Open-" Before he could summon someone, though, Jiemma was right in front of him. He grabbed his right arm with tremendous force and ripped it clean off. "GAAAAAH!"

"I am not a monster." He punched Caprico's left side, blowing his left arm and shoulder clean off. "Sentinoids are not monsters." He delivered a chop to his right, destroying part of his abdomen. "Society has existed for nearly 18,000 years, and yet nothing changes for my people. The only one to try was Doryu, but that accomplished nothing. However, I shall be different. I, Jiemma, with the power of Sabertooth, shall dominate this world of humans and show them that my people... that _I _am not to be trifled with!" He then let loose a giant barrage of fists, destroying Caprico's left leg and leaving him a bloody mess, hopping on his one remaining leg.

"Incredible... I had no chance of winning from the start... against a... monster..." Jiemma then grabbed Caprico's neck with his left hand and squeezed with so much strength that one might think it would shatter right there.

"YOU NEVER LEARN, DO YOU?"

"Oh, I've learned something... I've learned that that power must be mine! Huma Raise!" A shadow with an evil smile then appeared behind Caprico.

"Even if you're only half sentinoid, I can still possess your body!" The shadow then flew at Jiemma, but as it did that, a fan made of feathers appeared in Jiemma's right hand. He performed one powerful swing and released a powerful wind that cut the shadow into hundreds of pieces. "Wha...?"

"I am a Tengu, spawn of Amanozako, the personification of Susanoo's rage. Be it something of the physical realm or spiritual, there is nothing my winds cannot blow away." The shadow then completely disintegrated; a few seconds afterwards, the body of Capricorn did the same. "...I am not a monster..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Bern: You know the drill. Review. Favorite. Follow. #RFF #Don't Be Lazy**


	43. The Saint's Dilemma

**Bern: You all know that we don't own anything besides the OCs, right? Good. Disclaimer over.**

* * *

After leaving Jiemma alone, Cana and Lucy went to find other members of the guild to help. While they looked, though, Cana asked Lucy to say what she figured out about Mavis' grave, but her answer was less than satisfactory.

"You forget what you were going to say?!" Cana exclaimed.

"Yeah... sorry," Lucy said weakly. In reality, she hadn't forgotten, but Natsu said that Cana ran off on her own after Lucy gave her guess for where the grave was in the first timeline. Lucy didn't want her to do that, so she thought that playing dumb would keep their group together. "But here's some food for thought! If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con,' and 'pro' is in the word 'progress,' what's the opposite of 'progress?'"

"Lucy..."

"Actually, I was going for 'congress.'"

"Do you think I'm playing around here?!"

"No... but don't you think there are more important things going on right now?" Cana, in her anger, grabbed Lucy's wrist with incredible strength, making her scream a little.

"We've got Wizard Saints on the island, so we can just ignore these guys! Now tell me where the grave is!"

"Cana(OW!)..." Before Lucy could make a proper response, she and her partner heard someone go, "WOOOOOO..." As they wondered what it was, they saw a fat man running at them while performing palm thrusts.

"WEEEEEEEE!" Kain Hikaru yelled.

"Who is that?!" Luckily, though, Kain tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face. "He's a member of Grimoire Heart... I guess..." Cana then let go of Lucy's wrist.

"Let's go, Lucy," Cana said.

"What?! But we can't just leave this guy alone!"

"There are other people on the island who can take care of him! Let's forget this fatass and move on with the exam!" While Lucy was being yelled at, Kain had gotten up and looked quite angry.

"Hey," he started, "even though I look like this, I am still one of the Seven Kin; I am powerful." As he said this, a powerful punch collided with the side of his head, knocking him into a tree.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna be scared of a man who can't even find his penis," a half-naked man said as he entered the scene.

"Gray?!" Cana exclaimed. "Where have _you _been?!"

"I've been around, waiting for when I could make a dramatic entrance."

"Your humor seems almost as misplaced as your pants..." Lucy said with a sweat drop.

"I was making a joke?" Lucy facepalmed to this.

"Anyway, now that you're here, we can definitely take this guy! Right, Cana?!"

"..." was Cana's response. "We might as well-"

"Cana, you get out of here," Gray said.

"What? You want me to just leave?"

"Why not? If you're not helping protect your friends, you can get back to the exam, right? We're all fighting for our lives here, but apparently you care so little about that that you'd even hurt your friends if they get in your way, so why waste your time here?" Lucy started rubbing her wrist, it still hurting from before.

"No, that's..."

"We don't need you here, so why don't you just get lost and go get promoted the wrong way, already?!"

"! ..." Cana started tearing up, but then ran from the scene.

"You didn't have to be so mean..." Lucy said.

"This'll let her calm down and think about how stupid she's been acting," Gray said. "Besides... it's only natural to get mad at someone messing with you(slight whisper)."

"What?"

"Nothing!" Ever since Erza and Jellal got married, Gray and Lucy had a close friendship with one another as Lucy said she would be there for him to try and make accepting it easier for him. Before that, the ice mage merely thought of her as a pretty face who seemed a tad out of place amongst the chaos of their guild, but now he considered her to be a pretty face who he was always glad to have around. ...Obviously, Gray found Lucy attractive, but he wasn't sure if he actually _like _liked her. Not only that, but he just started getting over Erza, and he was pretty sure Lucy liked Natsu, so even if he did like her like that, he would just be intruding on Lucy's heart. It also didn't help that he didn't know if Natsu was gunning for Lucy, Lisanna, or Fuyu, so if it _was_ Lucy, he would seriously be messing up their bromance. But enough about all of that; we need to get back to fight, where Kain has taken out something reminiscent of a voodoo doll.

"Mind if I have some hair?" Kain asked Gray.

"What? Why?"

"I just wish to hold it."

"No!"

"Oh, come on, be neighborly."

"I'm not your neighbor. I also think I hate you."

"Look, after what you guys have started doing to our guild, we'll be lucky to end up being able to fit our members into a meat pie. Let me have your stupid hair!"

"..."

"..."

"...Fine." Gray handed Kain a strand of hair.

"See? Nothing nefarious. I just wanted to inspect the craftsmanship. Admire the temper." He then stuck the strand into the Ushi no Koku Mairi. "Use it to get rid of _you, _you insubordinate hick!" He then had the doll punch itself in the face with its left hand, but for some reason, Kain ended up doing that to himself. "What?" Little did Kain know that Natsu had informed Gray, Lucy, and the rest of "Team Time Jumpers" of the Kin's powers, so when Gray punched Kain, he grabbed some of his hair in preparation for when he would be asked for some. After his trick succeeded, Gray walked right in front of Kain with a smirk. "Still not sure if you hate me?"

"Actually, that pretty much sealed it." He then created his Cold Excalibur and delivered Kain a powerful slash that sent him into another tree.

"No... no, wait, please, I... we can make a deal! If you let me go, I'll... give you an ice cream cone?"

"..."

"Three ice cream cones!"

"..."

"Two and a half?"

"You just went down."

"I'm a haggler?"

"Hyōjin: Nanarenbu!" Blades of ice appeared on Gray's arms as he delivered seven extremely fast slashes to the fat man's body, defeating him in an instant.

"Wow!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile. "That was awesome!"

"Thanks. The other fights should be about done; let's head back to camp."

"How about we find your clothes, first?"

"What?" Gray then looked at his body. "Dammit! Why didn't you say something, before?!"

"I think I did..."

* * *

Over with Erza and Juvia, the fight was taking longer than either mage had predicted. Meredy's magic blades were able to hurt Juvia somehow, so she was having some difficulties, but while the blades weren't a problem for Erza, Meredy was incredibly fast, and whenever she kicked, it was with tremendous force that you wouldn't imagine a girl like her having.

_What the hell _is _this girl?! _Erza thought, barely blocking another kick. _How can she be this strong?! No... forget that, I need a way to stop her from moving! _Erza then jumped back and Requipped into her Sea Empress Armor. Then, using the power of the armor, she manipulated the water to have it wrap around Meredy's legs, stopping her from moving. Erza then released a slash of water, but Meredy managed to break free of the binds and kick the attack away. When she did, though, her boots got torn from the top to halfway down her shins, revealing what appeared to be legs that were made of black metal from her knees downward.

"Metal legs?!" Juvia exclaimed.

"You... what the hell _are _you?!"

"...After Ultear was arrested," Meredy started, "I lashed out against Master Hades for not wanting to go rescue her... and he shot me in both legs."

"What?!"

"The damage was far more severe than anyone had anticipated. My legs had to be amputated from the knees down... and replaced with these metallic replicas..." Meredy then hung her head down in seeming depression.

_This girl... she's so sad..._ Juvia thought to herself. She then started walking over to Meredy to try and comfort her, but the little girl's head suddenly shot up and revealed a maniacal expression, making Juvia jump back. _What?! _Meredy then jumped from where she stood and delivered a mighty kick to Juvia's stomach, causing her to cough up a large amount of blood and fall to the ground unconscious.

"That takes care of #15."

"Juvia!" Erza yelled.

"Sure, I hate having these things, but they do have their advantages. I now have tremendous leg strength, making it easy to run and making my kicks deadly. Plus, the metal used here is extremely conductive with my magic, so I can just charge Ethernano into them and attack in the same way as with my regular spells." Meredy then gave Erza a disturbing Slasher Smile. "Something like this makes it _very_ easy to kill, right~~? KHAHAHAHAHAHUHUHU!"

"You're... you're demented..."

"Like that means anything coming from the sixth person I want to kill!" Meredy then leaped at Erza and attacked with both Maguilty Sodom and her magically charged legs, making it hard for Erza to dodge her attacks. Eventually, she was unable to, and got pierced in the arm before being kicked to the ground.

_Dammit...! I thought that I'd be able to handle her, but those metal legs of hers make her a tough opponent..._

"Even though I wanted to kill you sixth, I guess there's no harm in doing it now."

"I feel _so _honored..." Erza said sarcastically as she was getting up. "Out of curiosity, who else is on that list?"

"Well, that woman I just defeated was #15. Fifth is Gildarts Clive, but he's not on the island, anymore. Fourth place is Makarov Dreyar, but I can't locate his magic, for some reason."

_The Master's only fourth?!_

"In third place is the first person to hurt Ultear... Gray Fullbuster...!"

_This girl probably knows about Gray's past and how he caused his master, and Ultear's mother, Ur, to forfeit her life, but he's only _third _because of something like that? Then who's... it can't be..._

"And then, the second and first people I want to kill are the ones who took Ultear away from me... the two who took the only person I love away from me... the two people who ruined everything for me! I swear on my life that I will not leave this island until I kill both Natsu Dragneel... and Jellal Fernandes!"

"...Is that right?" Erza then Requipped into her fearsome Neon Genesis Armor and stared at Meredy with bloodthirsty eyes. "You say you're going to kill Jellal~~?!"

_What the hell?! My data doesn't say anything about that armor! _Erza then activated Haze of Bardiel and used the flying armor to punch Meredy in the stomach and deliver a chokeslam.

"You...!" Meredy used Maguilty Sodom to knock the arms off of her, making Erza have them re-attach themselves to the main portion. "Maguilty Rays!" A multitude of yellow blades flew at Erza, but she used her bowie knife to knock them all away. "Dammit!" Meredy then ran at Erza to perform a kick, but as she did, an octahedron suddenly appeared around Erza.

"Thunder of Ramiel!" A laser was fired from the octahedron and blasted Meredy to the ground. "...Had enough?"

"..." Meredy slowly got up.

"You're still fighting? Good. After all, I'm not just going to let you surrender after threatening my husband!"

"...Hus... band...? ...That's right... you're using different last name... but you're married to Jellal Fernandes. ...Fufufufu... fuufufufu... fufufufufuKHAKHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~!" Before Erza could react, her body was enveloped in a coral pink light. When it faded, Erza saw that some sort of mark had appeared on her wrist.

"What is this?!"

"Sensory Link. Any people with that mark on their wrists shall share their feelings, their pain... and their deaths." She then returned to a session of maniacal laughter.

"But why would you-! ...You think that Jellal's life being connected to mine shall make me falter?!" Erza then charged at Meredy, still laughing insanely, and grabbed her face. "The fact that my love's life depends on my victory will only empower me! Water of Sachiel!" She blasted Meredy in the face with a laser that sent her flying into a boulder. Erza thought that that was that, but she suddenly felt incredible pain in her head and back. "What... the... hell...?!"

"Khahaha..." Meredy chuckled as she got up. "Did you think I used Sensory Link on you and Jellal? No..." She then flashed her wrist to reveal the same mark that was on Erza's, "I used it on you and _I!_"

"What?!"

"I originally thought of using it to do away with Jellal, but then I remembered that you're his wife, so I figured... wouldn't killing the only woman he's ever loved and forcing him into a spiral of despair be even better than ending his life?! Wouldn't it?! KHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You..."

"Come on! Fight me! Defeat me! Kill me! If you do, though, you'll die! If you just give up, I'll kill you, even if I die, too! If you leave me to my own devices, I'll kill myself, and end the both of us! Either way, Jellal forever loses! Isn't that great?! KHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAKKHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I bet that none of you guessed that Meredy would have automail, despite the thinly veiled hints I gave.**

**Pie: I bet that they also didn't expect you to make Meredy so crazy, either!**

**Bern: It was all very interesting. That makes it all the more sad that the readers will enjoy the GraLu moments more than everything else.**

**FoxOnPie: ...Yeah...**

**Bern: Did you all know that over 10,000 **_**Fairy Tail**_** fics have romance involved? You all know that **_**Fairy Tail**_** is a battle manga, right? Not judging, but there seems to be something wrong here.**

**Pie: And there's go some more romance fans... **

* * *

**Bern: You know the drill. Review. Favorite. Follow. #RFF #Don't Be Lazy**


	44. Life is Epic

**Fox: I gotta ask... are any of you actually familiar with the **_**When They Cry**_ **series? I'm including all this stuff from it, and I'm afraid that it's just going over your heads.**

**Bern: You are incompetent.**

**Fox: See? You all probably have no idea what that means, do you? If you have any thoughts on the inclusion of all of it, please express them.**

**Pie: Moving on from that, there should only be 7-8 chapters left in this arc. After that, we'll give you a heads up of some things to come, so stick with us until then, okay? **

* * *

**Bern: You all know that we don't own anything besides the OCs, right? Good. Disclaimer over.**

* * *

"You... you would really kill yourself if it meant making Jellal suffer?" Erza asked.

"Maaaaaaaaybeeeeeee~," Meredy said with a creepy grin.

"Is your own life so meaningless that you can just throw it away like that?!"

"...Yes." She lost her grin and regained her usual stoic expression. "Ultear was the only thing I had to keep me going. Now that she's gone, though... what's the point of living?! Everything I did was to repay her for giving me a home when mine was destroyed! If I can't be around her again, what reason do I have to exist?! I was able to have fun with her! I was able to be happy with her! Now that she's gone..." Meredy then started crying, "what am I supposed to do?!"

"Just find new fun and happy things."

"! ...You... don't pity me!" Meredy then stabbed herself in the stomach with Maguilty Sodom, causing Erza to fall to the ground. "You can only say something like that because you _are _happy! Happy people think it's _so _easy to be like them, but it's not! Sometimes, it's downright impossible!" She then stabbed herself in her left arm, making the two of them cry out in pain."This pain... it's the only reminder that I'm alive... I want it all gone..." She then prepared to cut her jugular, but Erza managed to throw her knife at her blade and sent it flying.

_This girl... words won't get through to her... if that's the case, I have to go to the root of the problem: her mind!_ As Meredy prepared to kill herself once again, the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's _Messiah_ suddenly started playing from nowhere.

"What?"

_I don't usually use this technique... one wrong move, and it's definitely over for me. However..._ "This is my only option!" Erza got on her feet and pointed a hand at Meredy. "Birds of Arael!" A beam of light was fired from Erza's hand that made a direct hit with Meredy.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~!"

* * *

Erza, or rather, a personification of Erza, still donning the Neon Genesis Armor, was now in a completely different place. It was dark, and the only light was from several large crystals.

_Looks like I got in, _Erza thought. _Birds of Arael allows me to go inside a person's mind in order to fight, but in order to do so, my thoughts have to be given physical form. If anything happens to it, I could very well die... it's truly my sharpest double-edged sword! I can't worry about myself, though; I need to find the root of this girl's madness. _Erza started walking around to look for something that could be useful when she heard crying.

"What? In a place like this?" Following the direction of the cry, she ended up at a crystal that displayed a crying Meredy in a ruined city. "I figured that these were her memories..." She then kept watching the crystal and saw Meredy being taken in by Ultear, made into a member of Grimoire Heart, and forming a mother-daughter bond with Ultear. "To think that this girl... Meredy... was so close to Ultear."

"Yes... _was..._" A voice said, making Erza turn around to see a personification of Meredy's thoughts with a dead look in her eyes. "Ultear was like the mother I lost so tragically... even if we were doing evil, it didn't matter to me, so long as Ultear was happy. With her gone, though..."

"Stop that. Thinking that way is just selfish."

"'Selfish?'"

"You think that everything right now is about _your _feelings, but what about Ultear's feelings? She clearly cares about you, so how do you think she'd feel if she found out you were dead? If you keep trying to have both of us die, the most important people to the _both of us_ end up suffering. Do you really want that?"

"...No..."

"So stop all of this. Not just our fight, but all of this fighting, in general. If I was Ultear... if I was your mother, I'd rather have you live a peaceful life than go through all of this."

_Ul... _Meredy then started crying. _Moth-_

"You're not buying that crap, are you?" A mysterious voice asked.

"?! Who's there?!" Erza asked. "Show yourself!"

"With pleasure!" A black smoke-like substance suddenly appeared next to Meredy before taking the shape of a human. This human was a young girl with short, ginger-colored hair and blue eyes. She wore a purple dress with a red ribbon on the left side, a purple mantle with thrills, long, black gloves that reached the halfway point of her upper arms, black shoes, a black ribbon with a rose in the middle, and a black hat with a rose brooch on the left side. Also, in her left hand was a long, golden staff with the tip in the shape of what appeared to be a one-winged bird. "Nice to meet you, Erza Scarlet. My name is Eva-Beatrice, the soon-to-be 'Golden Witch' and 'Endless Witch.' Right now, though, the only fitting title for me is... the 'Black Witch.'"

_What?! Natsu never mentioned anyone like this! Who isthis girl using such an outdated term for a magic user?! _"Why are you here? No, _how _are you here?!"

"I'll answer the second one, first. **I am able to be here through the usage of magic, same as you.**

"What was _that?_"

"Like it? **This is the 'Bold Truth.' Anything said using it is absolutely true. It's supposed to be red, but certain 'complications' have made it bold.**"

"Alright, now answer the first question... in bold!"

"Certainly. **I am here to... **_**talk **_**with Meredy.**" When the "Black Witch" said this, she had a malicious grin, confirming Erza's suspicion.

"You... you're the one who twisted her in such a manner!"

"**She was already on the verge of breaking. I merely gave her a little push.**"

"Why?!"

"**It amused me.**"

"What?"

"Thanks to me, this girl has given up on life entirely, but rather than simply end her existence, she's taking others with her. Isn't something like that great?!"

"It isn't! Something like suicide should _never _be considered an option, and you're horrible for talking her into it!"

"Suicide is horrible? In that case, why did you try it?"

"?!"

"I know a lot about you. **On October 31st., X784, you tried to kill yourself because you thought that the alternative was forever fighting against Jellal. **Not only that, but **this spell you're using has a high risk factor and you can very easily end up dead from it.**"

"That's..."

"**And now, I shall use the 'Underlined Truth.'This allows me to state multiple theories at once that can only be disproven by the 'Bold Truth.' It's actually supposed to be blue, but the same 'complications' prevent that. Anyway, **in your entire life as a mage, there have been countless instances of you being perfectly fine with the idea of dying so long as things work out for those close to you. You clearly don't value your own life that much, but you want others to like you, no, _acknowledge_ you, so you stopping Meredy from killing herself isn't about your life or Jellal's happiness... it's about making yourself look good to others and yourself!

"That's..."

"Therefore! There's no reason to get involved here at all! You don't care about your own life... and Meredy doesn't care about hers. Why should she, anyway, when the one person whom she cared for is gone?" Eva-Beatrice then leaned in very close to Meredy's ear, "Not only that, but that person never even cared for you, at all, Meredy."

"...What?" Meredy asked.

"You honestly think that Ultear cared about you? Kuukuukuku! If that woman really cared for you, then she would have told you that **it was Grimoire Heart who destroyed your home and made you an orphan.**"

"...What...?"

"I'll repeat: **Grimoire Heart, the guild with your beloved Ultear, is responsible for starting all of your suffering. **You were only kept alive for your magic, and Ultear merely sees you as a tool."

"That... that's not true...! You're lying!"

"**I have the power to speak the truth in bold! Whatever's underlined is true until proven false by the 'Bold Truth!' Everything I'm saying cannot be denied by someone like you!**

"No... then... then..." Meredy then fell on her knees and cried.

"Yes, go ahead and weep. This world has no reason for you to exist now that you know the truth about Ultear. Even so, you still love her, so the least you can do before ending your sorry life is to make her a _little _happy, right? Right?! Kuukuukuukukukukukuku~"

"You should really shut your mouth," Erza said as Eva-Beatrice laughed, right before using Water of Sachiel to blast a hole through her stomach.

"GAH! What..."

"That 'Bold Truth' and 'Underlined Truth' doesn't seem hard to use, so I think I'll try it. **You were right in saying that I do things for the acknowledgement of others and to let myself feel important, but you were wrong in saying that I don't value life! I've been surrounded by death on more instances in my 19 years than a person should in their entire lives! The only reason I'm always ready to throw my life away is because I'm not good enough to stop that from being an option! I still need to get strong enough so that such a thought could never occur, and the same goes for Meredy! That's why I've gotten involved here! To try and stop her from making the same mistakes I always make!**" Meredy had stopped crying and turned towards Erza. "Meredy, you probably forgot, but **Ultear said that the crying you reminded her of herself;the comment about the magic was only made to convince the others to allow you to come! **Ultear _does _care about you! Furthermore... everyone was born for a reason! If you can't find one right in front of you, use your own strength to make one for yourself!

"My own... strength...?" Meredy muttered.

"How about it, 'Black Witch?' Can you use your truths to refute any of my statements? If not, then leave now!"

"Heh!" Eva-Beatrice snorted. "I'll accept the 'Bold,' but I already told you that you can only disprove the 'Underlined Truth' with the 'Bold Truth!'"

"I'm not saying what you said is wrong; I have no way to do so. However, there's no reason that two underlined theories can't exist at once, right?"

"!"

"If you don't want that, strike down my 'Underlined Truth' with your 'Bold Truth!'"

"You... you... don't mess with me!"I am the most powerful witch in the world! If I say I want to mess with someone, you should just let me, bitch! Don't think I'll let you off so easily for something like this! Siesta Sisters! Get out here!" A golden field of dust suddenly appeared that eventually transformed into two females, one with short, light blue hair, and one with pink pigtails. The two girls both had large breasts, rabbit ears atop their heads, a rabbit's tail, a white skirt and pair of boots, a black leotard, and a military jacket that only covered half of their chests with an armband bearing the Iceland flag on each of their left arms; also, on each of their right thighs was a tattoo of identical shape and color to the tip of Eva-Beatrice's staff.

"Siesta 410, reporting!" The blue-haired one said.

"Siesta 45, reporting...!" The pink-haired one said. "Please give us your orders, master!"

"Kill her!" The 'Black Witch' yelled, pointing her staff at Erza. "Kill that incompetent woman who thinks she's better than me!"

"Nihihi!" Siesta 410 laughed. "It's time for work. 410, roger." Siesta 45's rabbit ears then started to point at Erza.

_I know nothing about either of these... whatever they are,_ Erza thought. _I need to be cautious if I want to succeed here._

"Preparing to snipe the incompetent one. Collecting data on geography and trajectory. Linking to 410."

"410, data received," Siesta 410 said. "Correcting errors in the curvature of Meredy's mind and forming trajectory to target. Control trajectory correction complete. Data link to 45."

"45, data received. Locking on target. 45, sniping preparations complete. Loading selected ammo. 97.89% accuracy." A golden bow and arrow then appeared out of thin air that the rabbit girls both grabbed in a way that suggested they would be firing together.

"FIRE!" They both shouted, firing the arrow with speed so great it appeared to be a beam of light. Before it hit though, Erza managed to attack it with Strength of Zeruel, but the arrow destroyed it and pierced her chest.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Eva-Beatrice laughed as Erza started to fall. "What is this? This is so simple, it's absurd! That'll teach you to try and defeat me! Kuukukukukukuku!" The girl's triumph, however, was cut short when she heard a voice say, "You love hearing your own voice, don't you?" "What?!" She then took a good look at the armor-clad woman and saw that she was still alive.

"Nihi?!" Siesta 410 exclaimed.

"How?!" Siesta 45 asked. "Was that last attack really able to lower the power of our arrow enough to keep her alive?! Give us orders, master!" The "Black Witch," however, was too stupefied to say anything. "Orders, please!" Erza's armor then became translucent and gained an intense yellow glow.

"That attack hurt a lot..." Erza said, "why don't _you _try it?! Silence of Shateiel!" A large blast of light was fired from Erza's body at the Siesta Sisters, completely engulfing them. When the blast faded, Erza's armor regained its normal color palette, and the two girls' bodies were completely tattered, forcing them to make their own bodies vanish. "A person's life has more weight than you think... treat it with more respect!"

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Eva-Beatrice yelled. Slices of cake then appeared in the air that flew at Erza and exploded, though she managed to dodge. "You have no idea what kind of world you're getting yourself into!" As Erza ran towards Eva-Beatrice, the witch shot a large piece of licorice at Erza from her free hand, tying her up and making her unable to move. She then pulled Erza toward her and started beating her with her staff. "No one goes against me and lives! I'll kill you, then revive you, then kill you, then revive you, and repeat the process for an eternity!" She then went for Erza's head, but stopped when she felt a sharp pain. "...Even you... even you... defy me..." She then slowly turned to see the seemingly broken girl stabbing her in the stomach horizontally with a magic blade, "...Meredy...?!"

"**My life... is a precious thing...**" Meredy started, "**I won't let you treat it like a toy that can be thrown away once you're bored of it!**" Meredy then pulled her blade to the right with so much force that Eva-Beatrice's body was split in two.

"AAAAAAAAAAGHHH! You miserable bitch! How dare you do this to me!" She probably would've said more if Erza didn't stomp in front of her with a vicious scowl. "...Fine. I'll give you this round, but our game is far from over. A wound like this won't possibly kill me... especially since I'm just a piece of the real Eva-Beatrice; the real one will have revenge for this humiliation...! You two... Fairy Tail... and that time-jumping lizard... you're all dead! When the 'Endless Hour' arrives, I'll make sure to kill the two of you with my bare hands! You'll look ever so forward to it, right?!" She then started cackling like crazy until her body disappeared in a golden light.

_The "Endless Hour?" _Erza thought to herself. _What does that mean? And "time-jumping lizard?" Could she... know the truth about Natsu and this timeline?! I don't understand how this is possible... but right now..._ Erza then turned back to Meredy.

"Is this really alright?" Meredy asked. "Me being alive, I mean? After all I've done... after the way I acted..." In response to this, Erza hit Meredy on the head with a large amount of force.

"Shut it, you little baby! What do you mean, 'is it alright?' What do you mean, 'after all you've done?' What do you mean, 'after the way you acted?' It doesn't matter what kinds of things you've done. You're nothing more than a stupid kid, like me! Don't involve others in such stupid delusions!"

"...Erza..."

"Today, I have learned of my own naivety, but I don't plan on giving up. I will start from square one, and I won't be alone. I am dragging you with me, Meredy. Don't think you can die in peace after angering me! Your 'impossibility' is committing suicide! I will forever get in your way, so prepare yourself! From now on, you're going to start over as a new member of Fairy Tail! As my junior! I will teach you about reality! Is the future bothersome? Is reality your enemy? Don't worry. Even if it is, life is epic!"

"...Yeah..." Meredy then started to cry with a smile. "...It is, isn't it...?" When she said that, the entire area became filled with light.

* * *

While all of this was happening, Ultear Milkovich, S-Class prisoner of the Magic Council's maximum security prison "Flytrap," suddenly felt the urge to look out her window. While she did, she simply looked off into the distance and said one word: "Meredy..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Weird. I originally wanted the fights involving the Kin and Bluenote to be taken care of in two chapters, but it ended up lasting four.**

**Bern: This also proves that you are incompetent.**

**Fox: ...I reiterate, please tell me if all of this **_**When They Cry **_**stuff is throwing you through a loop. It'll all make sense in due time, but I'd like to know your current thoughts about it. Until then, see ya! **

* * *

**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive.**

**Pie: Wow, you said something that wasn't an insult. Progress!**

**Bern: Shut up.**

**Pie: And we're back at step one.**


	45. The Saints' Conclusion

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

**Fox: We're back to the original one? Why?**

**Bern: Why not?**

**Fox: Touche. Also, to , I already have a pretty concrete idea of what will happen in the story, so I can't include your idea. Sorry! **

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _in order to free Meredy from her madness, Erza travelled into her mind and battled with the evil and mysterious Eva-Beatrice. The "Black Witch" was vanquished, but the fate of the other two female mages is currently unknown. For now, though, it is time to conclude the battle of the Wizard Saints, starting with Spot fighting against Rustyrose.

* * *

"What's with the dog?" Elfman asked.

"You idiot!" Evergreen barked. "That's one of the Wizard Saints, Spot!"

"He is?!"

"Yeah! Now show some respect for the guy who just saved our asses!"

"Like hell that's happening! I'm not letting a _dog _come to our rescue! That's unmanly!"

"You know" Rustyrose started, "when those who are in love disagree..."

"We are _NOT _in love!" The Fairy Tail mages yelled in unison.

"Regardless," Spot started, "just leave this to me, woof. You should just sit back and watch how I fight... Elfman."

_? He didn't end that sentence with "woof," _Elfman thought. At that moment, Spot turned towards Evergreen, stuck his tongue out, and apparently made it stretch to an incredible length in order to lick her. After the tongue left her face, her eyes shut and she fell to the ground. "What?!"

"Don't worry, she's just sleeping, woof."

"Why, though?!"

"Because... there's no reason for her to watch my fight. That being said..." Spot then ran off in a random direction at incredible speed, leaving Elfman and Rustyrose's field of vision almost immediately.

"He's fast..."

_You know, I _could _just take care of this guy right now... _Rustyrose thought, _but they're in the middle of things, and that would be plain rude. _Spot then returned to the scene at the same breakneck speed. _Oh! The odd pup has returned._

"Where'd you run off to?" Spot didn't say anything; he merely blinked twice, started coughing, and out from his mouth flew Mirajane, covered in saliva. "Nee-san?!" Spot then coughed again and spat out Lisanna who, like her sister, was drenched in dog spit. "Lisanna?!"

"Ewww~~!" The two girls moaned in unison.

"Why were you inside of that dog?!"

"We were at camp, waiting for everyone to come back after we finished off some grunts..." Lisanna started, wiping off some of the spit covering her body.

"But then this yellow blur showed up, and then it got really dark and wet..." Mira finished, squeezing out saliva that got absorbed into her shirt. She then turned towards the canine mage. "Why did you eat us, exactly."

"Sorry, but it was the fastest way I could think of to get you two over here," Spot said. "All three of you need to bear witness to the way I take this man down."

_What's going on? _Elfman asked himself. _All that's happened is that he didn't say "woof," but he seems so... intimidating..._

"_You're _going to beat _me?_" Rustyrose said before laughing. "That's rich! I think I'll honor such silliness by dealing you an elegantly swift defeat! Vanquish these fools, Sacred Guardian Beast: Belcusas the Thunderclap!" A giant, armored monster suddenly appeared behind Rustyrose.

"What is _that_?!" Lisanna exclaimed. "Is it summoning magic?!"

"No, it seems different, somehow..." Mira said. As they pondered the truth of this magic, Belcusas ran up and threw a punch at Spot. "Look out!" The dog didn't need to look out, though, for his incredibly long tongue wrapped around the monster's arm, allowing him to be thrown through the air.

"Partial Animal Soul: Dalmatiman!" Spot shouted. His body then gained a human shape and the color palette of a dalmatian.

"That's..."

"'Take Over?!'" Elfman exclaimed.

"The same magic we use!" Lisanna exclaimed. Spot then jumped up into the air and was soon close to the monster. As he jumped, his speckles converged onto his head, causing it to transform into a doberman's head.

"Wowoooon!" Spot yelled. "Mad Dog Tooth!" Spot's speed suddenly jumped to an incredible degree as he bit Belcusas all over its body, amazingly breaking through its armor. When he bit its head, Spot threw the monster to the ground with incredible force, causing it to disintegrate.

"To think my creation would be taken down so easily..." Rustyrose said with a sweat drop as Spot landed on his feet. "I guess you don't bear that title for nothing."

"Indeed."

"However, I'm a tad shocked to learn that your magic is 'Take Over' magic. You'd think that someone as strong as you would use something with a little more... flare."

"True, this magic isn't the most flashy magic, but it's just as effective as any other... when used _properly_." The emphasis on "properly" told the Strauss siblings that he was referring to them.

"Excuse me?!" Mira asked in an angered tone.

"Do you want a fight?!" Elfman yelled.

"Elf-nii, Mira-nee, please calm down," Lisanna said.

"LISANNA!" Spot yelled, not even turning to her, but still causing her to jump. "I used an Animal Soul to defeat that monster; could you have done the same?"

"Um..."

"No, of course not. The reason is because you lack an animal's 'strength!' You haven't used your magic in two years, and even before you were sent to Edolas, you were only average! How do you expect to make something of yourself when you don't even _try_ to be strong?!"

"! ..." It's safe to say that Lisanna had no answer or response to any of that. Her older siblings felt like beating him up right then and there, but he _was _fighting Grimoire Heart for them, so they really couldn't. Plus, the way he spoke made him seem very dangerous to approach.

"Your lack of resolve is infuriating!" Spot then charged at his opponent and threw his claw at him, but he didn't look concerned at all.

"That which dwells in my left hand is a golden shield that pushes back everything," Rustyrose said. his left hand then turned into a large, golden shield which he used to block Spot's attack. "I am the king of the underworld. This arm cuts through everything with a deep black blade. Disappear to the edge of darkness!" His right arm then transformed into a claw that shot out at Spot.

"Doggy Nail!" Spot's toenails extended and got sharper as he kicked the tip of Rustyrose's claw, stopping the attack dead in its tracks. Spot's head then went back to its previous appearance as the speckles converged into one black circle on his abdomen. "Speckle Bomb!" The circle shot off of Spot's body as a black ball that hit Rustyrose in the face, causing him to deactivate his spells. Spot then charged at the mage to deliver a punch, but missed when Rustyrose was suddenly in the air due to wings on his feet.

"Ha! I can fly in the air with Pegasus Wings! What will you do now, you landlocked mutt?!"

"This. Beast Soul: Chimera!" Spot's body then transformed into a winged chimera. He flew up into the air and blasted Rustyrose with fire from his snake tail and lion and goat heads, causing his wings to burn off and making him fall to the ground. "ELFMAN!" He yelled from the lion's head. What you lack is a beast's 'intellect!' You only charge forward and expect to get through everything with brute strength, but a true beast is a being who has both power _and _intelligence! Anything else makes you nothing but a simple monster!" Spot then floated down to the ground. "If you actually thought more, that incident from two years might not have happened!" yelled the goat head. And that was all that could be taken before Mira charged at him with Satan Soul and a flurry of punches and kicks, him dodging all of them, though.

"You jerk!" Mira yelled. "What gives you the right to mock my family?!" She then made a punch that seemed to connect, but when she took a good look, it was blocked by what looked like a hoof. _What?!_ While Mira was attacking, Spot had activated another Take Over. He now looked like a large camel on its hind legs with a large hump, six hooved arms, two tongues split at the tip, and a black crown.

"Beball's Roar!" He then released a sonic pulse from his mouth that blasted Mira away.

_Was that a Satan Soul with... Paimon?! My strongest Take Over, Sitri, is only the 12th. ranked demon! How can this guy use a demon in the top 10?!_

"MIRAJANE! What you lack is a demon's 'ruthlessness!' The old you that earned the name 'Demon' was 100% relentless in battle, but your two years of serving drinks and acting the fool have made you soft mentally! Even if you've begun to fight once more, the brutality you exhibit is nowhere near what it should be!" He then waved the three hooves on the left and sent a giant pillar of earth right through the neck of a monster that was apparently about to attack him.

"Belfast!" Rustyrose cried. "My fragmented heart is filled with rage! Come forth! Tower of Dingir!" A giant tower suddenly appeared, dragging Spot into the air. "Come out from the earth and crush this fool!" He then snapped his fingers as the tower exploded in a red blaze. "FUHAHAHAHAHA... wait... what? My Tower's explosion is supposed to be purple, not red. Why would it-?! What?!" At where the base of where the tower once stood was Spot, using another Take Over. This one had him in his original form, but he had red fur with orange flame markings, large, golden wings, and the word מטטרון on each leg.

"Angel Soul: Metatron. ...Strauss siblings, I do not try to mock you, I merely try to criticize you so you will be able to improve yourselves. As mages who have chosen this magic, you must become one with that which you draw power from. If you fail to do so... then like me..." He then made a quick glance towards the Strausses before facing Rustyrose again. Spot spread his wings as they ignited and flew past Rustyrose vertically. The mage looked like he was going to laugh at Spot for missing, but he noticed a small flame on his body. Then, another appeared. Then another, and another, and another, and another until his entire body was engulfed in flames, "...you won't be able to protect those closest to you."

* * *

"You say you know where Fairy Glitter is?" Bluenote asked Klaus. In response, he blew another bubble at him that soon burst.

"Indeed, I do," was said by the bubble.

"Tell me, how can you, a Wizard Saint not apart of Fairy Tail, possibly know the location of it?" Klaus blew three bubbles that soon popped.

"A little research can reveal anything," was said by the first bubble. "It's always good to know where powerful magic lies..." was said by the second bubble "...for when you need to kill someone," was said by the third bubble.

"Oo. You seem to have a dark side, there. I wonder just how far it will make you _FALL!_" A large bubble formed around Klaus's body seconds before the increased gravity took effect, completely blocking it. "? Not bad, not bad." A black bulge then appeared in the barrier that eventually split off and formed a black bubble that floated to the right of Klaus' head.

"Yeah, and there's more where that came from," was said by the bubble.

"? It didn't pop?"

"This black bubble can broadcast my thoughts and is only used in situations like this where there isn't time to talk in my preferred fashion. Now then..." the bubble barrier then vanished, "let's get started!" Klaus then blew a giant bubble from his wand, but rather than have it detach, he flung it at Bluenote with incredible speed. Bluenote, however, stuck his hand out and used his magic to send it flying back at Klaus who jumped to the left and successfully avoided it. This, though, didn't stop Bluenote from getting there very fast and punching him in the stomach. Normally, this would send a person flying, but Klaus had formed a shell of bubbles around his torso, reducing the damage by enough to keep himself grounded.

"Impressive. It won't be easy to make you fly."

"Good to hear. On that note... Shabon Launcher(Soap Launcher)!" A barrage of bubbles was fired from Klaus' wand that completely blew Bluenote away.

"Fall!" The bubbles all popped from the gravitational force, but by that time, Klaus was right at him and knocked him into a tree with his wand.

"Shabon Cutter(Soap Cutter)!" From his hand, Klaus fired a multitude of saucer-shaped bubbles that flew at Bluenote with incredible speed, cutting his body when they made contact. "Shabon Cutter..." He performed the same attack, albeit firing a smaller amount of bubbles. Bluenote was prepared this time and dodged it by jumping over them, but rather than fly into the tree, the bubbles turned and got him while he was in the air, causing him to fall, "Gliding(Soap Cutter Gliding)!" Before Bluenote hit the ground, however, he released a pulse of gravity from his feet to propel himself towards Klaus with a headbutt. The bubble mage, though, managed to catch him and throw him to the ground.

"This is incredible... to think I'd get a fight like this... time to take it up a notch!" Bluenote then brought his arms forward and closed his palms. "Black Hole!" A black orb appeared in front of Bluenote that created an intense gravitational force that started sucking in everything in the area, including Klaus. "This is a point of infinite gravity... that will swallow up everything! Fly! Fly!"

"Hey, not so fast! Look carefully around you!" Bluenote, not sure what Klaus was talking about, did look around to see the saucer-shaped bubbles floating in the air.

"Hm?!"

"The Soap Cutters from earlier are still there, and the became 'Shabon Lenses(Soap Lenses),' already in position to fire!"

"'Lenses?'"

"The lenses... will spread the light from the setting sun to the scene of our fight!" Just like he said, when the twilight hit the bubbles, the light was refracted and focused into beams that were fired at Bluenote's spell, causing it to break apart and shatter.

"What...?!"

"Did I fly, Bluenote?" If Klaus' face could be seen, he would be smirking.

"Damn... damn you!" Bluenote did a palm thrust, sending a blast of gravity at Klaus. He created a giant bubble in front of himself to block it, which it did, but the force of the collision created a wind that knocked down Klaus' hood, revealing his face to the world. "!"

"You... you... what is that face...?!" Klaus, seemingly ignoring Bluenote, simply put his hood back up. After that though, he popped the black bubble and used Bubble Launcher to trap Bluenote inside of a large bubble.

"You saw it..." This was actually said by Klaus verbally, showing that he had a rather deep voice. "My face... you saw it!" The bubble then started shrinking until it was solely around Bluenote's head, suffocating him. He tried to pop it, but was unable to. He tried to attack, but the lack of air made him unable to focus. Eventually, Bluenote stopped trying to get it off as he fell to the ground dead.

"...What are you doing, Klaus?" He asked himself. "Getting so angry at a guy like that. ...He didn't deserve your rage. Only one man deserves it: ...Shagorra. It's only him that you should be mad at. It's only him that you should fight seriously. It's only him... that you should kill..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: What reason does Spot have for associating with the Strausses? What does Klaus really look like? Who is Shagorra? All of these questions and more shall be answered in due time, readers! In the meantime, while you're waiting for the next chapter, you might want to brush up on your **_**Rave Master **_**knowledge, 'cause it'll be important. For now, though, it's once again time for... **

* * *

**Wendy: FAIRY CHANNEL! That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! We're already on the fifth episode of **_**Fairy Channel!**_ **Let's get even crazier! Now let me introduce... someone who's story keeps getting better and has gotten full of it... I mean... the hardworking Mr. Fox!*Starts clapping* Clap. Clap. Clap.**

**Fox: Well... I didn't mean to make it look like I was full of it... I'm the assistant, FoxOnPie. It's a pleasure!**

**Wendy: Okay. We're always receiving lots of reviews-**

**Fox: Actually, Wendy, we're cutting episode 5 here.**

**Wendy(In deep voice): ...What?**

**Fox: Well, what happens in the fifth **_**Lucky Channel**_ **can't be worked into this that well, so we're skipping it.**

**Wendy: You... you... you...*Goes Dragon Force* YOUUUUUUU!**

**Fox: Quick! The theme song!*The theme music goes off* **

**Wendy(In her cute voice): We're already out of time. Bye-bee!**

**Fox: Then we'll see you next time.*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): You know that them not seeing us won't stop me from killing you, right?**

**Fox: Yes, but this will! Smoke bomb!*Doesn't throw anything, just runs away***

**Wendy: ...Clever bitch.*Screen fades to black* **

* * *

**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive. **


	46. Hades Explains it All

**Fox: I know I shouldn't be advertising, but I published a new story yesterday, and I'd appreciate it if you all supported it. It's called **_**Yōsei: When They Cry, **_**and if you enjoy thinking and a perverted Natsu, you'll love it! If you have a problem with brutal murders and insanity, well... you should stick with this. **

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**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

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"I... I don't believe it..." Hades said to himself. "All of the Kin... and Bluenote... defeated so easily. ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

* * *

At another part of the island, Lucy and Gray are walking back to camp when they suddenly hear screaming.

"Gray, do you hear that?" Lucy asked.

"I feel that," he responded. Meanwhile, with Makarov...

* * *

"What the devil is that noise?" He asks no one. Meanwhile, with the Chairman, who was now on the island and at the camp...

* * *

"Watching all of those life-or-death battles sure made me thirsty!" He exclaimed. "Time for a delicious sports drink! ...Huh? What the heck is that?" Meanwhile, at Yajima's restaurant, "8-Island," the old man was tasting some of his apprentice chefs' cooking when...

* * *

"Crap..." He said. "Mega crap... Denise? Denise, do you hear that? Oh god, is that my wife? Leave me alone! You already took the kids, what more do you want?" 14 years later, with future Rogue Cheney...

* * *

"I've finally gathered enough pseudo Celestial Spirit magic to activate the Eclipse Gate," he said with a malicious grin. "Now I can go back in time, kill Lucy, and save the-" His soliloquy was cut off, though, when he suddenly heard screaming. "What the hell? Is that a blood orgy?" We now go back to Hades.

* * *

"It's over..." Hades fell back into his chair, dramatically. "I was hoping that they'd at least be weakened by now, but from what I can feel, only four of them are too hurt to fight, and only one, Erza Scarlet, is a Saint. There are still seven Saints... eight, counting Jellal, plus all of the other members of Fairy Tail... Makarov... and the most dangerous one of them all: Absoliutus Teisingumas. There's nothing I can do... Zeref... the One Magic... the Ultimate Magic World... it's all hopeless now..."

"...Is this how far your ambition goes?" Hearing this shocked Hades, as he was certain no one else was around. He turned to the direction of the voice and saw a figure he hadn't seen since Ultear was arrested: the master of Tartaros. This time, its shape and characteristics were a little more defined; it spoke in a rough voice and its head was completely covered in a dark veil that, if you looked closely at, indicated the shape of two triangular structures attached to the sides. It had a small body, covered in a dark cloak that only showed its hands and legs, both of which were gray and slightly feminine.

"You...? Why are you..."

"I will ask again. Is this how far your ambition goes? After all the help I've given you, Purehito, what with helping you start your guild, enlightening you on the truth of the One Magic, giving you that 'key...' you disappoint me."

"But... what can I do? I'm the only powerful one left... there's no chance that I can win, given who's here..." The master of Tartaros then walked up to Hades and grabbed him by the beard.

"So what? So what if you're going to lose? So what if they're going to defeat you? After everything you've strived for, are you really going to just let it all shatter without a single fight? If so, then I made a large misjudgement, Purehito." The master of Tartaros then let go of the beard and vanished in a dark cloud of smoke.

"...No. I... will not let it end like this! Come, Makarov's brats! Wizard Saints! Members of the government! You can defeat me if you like, but I'll make sure to give you one hell of a fight!"

* * *

"Finally! I've gathered all seven Dragonballs!" Gajeel said triumphantly as he gazed upon Shenron.

"State your wish," the Eternal Dragon said.

"Dragon! Grant me immortality!"

"Your wish is granted."

"Yes! I've done it! I'm finally the strongest in all the universe! WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

All of that, of course, was a dream that the unconscious Gajeel was having at the moment.

"Oh, how cute, he's having a little dream!" Fuyu said as she and Levy watched over him.

"Hine! Hine! Hine! Hine! Hine!" This was said while he twitched his leg.

_He should wake up now... _"(Nisemono) Metsu Ryū Ōgi[Fake(Dragon Slayer Secret Technique)]. WAKE-UP CHOP!" As the name stated, Fuyu delivered Gajeel a powerful chop that woke him up immediately.

"What the hell?! ...What's goin' on?" Fuyu and Levy then filled Gajeel in on everything that happened while he was knocked out. After getting the gist of it, he looked around at the campsite to survey everything. Natsu was standing atop a stump, looking like he was preparing to say something, and everyone was waiting for him to speak, with some doing other things, as well. Cana seemed to be depressed and keeping a distance from Lucy, HaōBaō was complaining about not having enough people to fight, and Jiemma, Klaus, and the Strausses were all brooding, for some reason. Not only that, but Freed, Bickslow, and Gildarts had also come back to the island to help, though they were a little too late. Nearly everyone who should be there was there, save some people. Gajeel heard that Wendy was still recovering from her fight(he still couldn't accept that she beat him), but Juvia and Erza were still unaccounted for.

_Where are those two? _Natsu thought to himself. _Only Bluenote and Azuma would give Erza trouble, and they've already been beaten(still can't believe Wendy took care of that tree guy)! So where..._ As Natsu thought this, he heard loud stomping and turned to see Meredy dragging the unconscious bodies of Erza and Juvia.

"Hey!" Gray yelled. "What are you doing with them?!"

"Choose your words carefully," Jellal said. He was much calmer than Gray, but he had a vicious scowl.

_Gray Fullbuster... Natsu Dragneel... and... Jellal Fernandes, _Meredy thought to herself. _No... my hatred is gone... so... _Ignoring Gray and Jellal, Meredy put the two female's bodies up against a tree and turned towards the Chairman. "My name is Meredy. Up until today, I have been a member of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory, but I have decided to leave that guild and abandon the life of a dark mage. However, this does not excuse my past actions, so please do what you see is fit to me."

"'What I see fit?'" Absoliutus repeated. "...Hehhehheh..." He then gained a creepy look as he eyed Meredy's chest. "'What I see fit,' eh~?" Before he could do anything, though, Lahar and Doranbolt whacked the back of his head. "OW! What the hell?!"

"You would violate a child?!" They yelled in unison.

"She said I could!" Meredy was shaking her head at this. "Besides, even if she's a kid, she's clearly been drinking her milk!" He was then whacked again. "Fine, I'll stop! You, girl! Sit somewhere!" Meredy, not sure what to think of all of this, sat by a nearby rock, her metallic legs making loud noise with each step. "You! Natsu-san! Go say your thing!"

"Right..." He said with a sweat drop. "First of all, I would like to thank you all for your assistance today. On that note, from this point forward, the Wizard Saints not in Fairy Tail will not be fighting." The Saints who heard this, even Jiemma(most likely because of the brooding) were fine with that. Well, except one...

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" HaōBaō yelled. "Are you trying to tell me that you only brought us here to take care of scraps while you hog the main course to yourself?!"

"That's a rather odd analogy... but yes."

"I'll kill you!" HaōBaō grabbed the hilt of Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, but Fuyu quickly used her (Nisemono) Metsu Ryū Ōgi[Fake(Dragon Slayer Secret Technique)], "Knockout Chop" and took him down before he acted stupider.

"In all seriousness, though, why can't the rest of us fight?" Fuyu asked.

"Because..." Natsu started, before taking a quick glance at Makarov, "the master of Grimoire Heart, Hades, is the 2nd. master of Fairy Tail, Purehito." It's safe to say that everyone was shocked to hear this.

_So that's why you didn't mention it before..._ Makarov thought with a sad look on his face.

"From here on out, this battle is entirely personal, so I'd like only Fairy Tail to finish it. Any questions?"

"Yeah," the Chairman began. "How do you do what you do, exactly? The identity of Hades doesn't seem like something you'd just pick up off the street, and your past actions all seem like you knew more than you let on." Everyone, save Natsu's teammates, were looking directly at him, as they were also curious as to the reason behind Natsu's brains.

"...You'll all know in a few hours." In a few hours, Natsu would be fighting Zeref to protect his guild, his friends, his family. At that point, the time loop would have come full circle, so there'd be no point in hiding his secret anymore. For now, though, it was time for action against Hades!

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the team Natsu had formed arrived at Hades' ship. It consisted of himself, Lucy, Gray, Jellal, Gildarts, and the Exceeds. Makarov opted to not go, everyone understanding why, and they all thought that this team would get the job done. Not only that, but Natsu knew that Laxus would show up, so that provided even more insurance.

"Gray, if you wouldn't mind," Natsu said. The ice mage summoned up a staircase that he and the other humans walked up while the cats went to destroy the ship's power source. They got inside the ship and came face-to-face with Hades, who was sitting in his chair.

"Well, well, well," he said to the group. "I must say, Natsu, you are indeed a brilliant man. Calling in the government and the Wizard Saints to do battle with you... I must say, this is completely, 100% my loss! Bwahahaha! ...However..." He then stood up and began putting out his magical energy, "even if I am to lose, I should be able to go out after taking your lives, at least, right?"

"If you can!" Gildarts said, putting up a pose. Natsu, though, put an arm out in front of his senior.

"Before we start, I want to ask you something Hades... no, Purehito," Natsu said. "What is the One Magic? What makes is worthy of betraying your guild and the whole world?"

_The One Magic?_ Lucy thought to herself. _Didn't my mom talk about that?_

"...That... is quite a tale..." Hades began. "...Long ago, the world was on the verge of complete annihilation."

"?"

"Incredible heat turned the planet into a desert. A plague caused many deaths and few births. Eventually, there was but one human left alive: Arcela Raregroove."

"_Raregroove?" ...Wait a minute..._

"Although it all looked bleak, Arcela would not give up on life. So, against all odds, she located Star Memory, the center of the planet's life force, and used its power to turn back time to before the destruction."

"And with her knowledge, that horrible future never came to be, and a parallel world where humanity survived was born."

"Fufufu. You know what I'm saying, eh?"

"Of course I do..." The looks on Lucy, Gray, Jellal, and Gildarts' faces showed that they did, too. "This... isn't this the story of Endless?!"

"Indeed, it is. With the creation of the parallel world, Endless, the King of Oblivion, was born, and the one thing he desired was the destruction of our world to reset things to how they were in the original world. His plan was to use the Dark Bring and the darkness of the Raregroove family to initiate Overdrive, a powerful explosion that would destroy everything. As we all know, though, he was stopped by the Rave Master, Haru Glory, the original user of Etherion, Elie, also known as 'Resha Valentine,' and their friends, all collectively known as the 'Rave Warriors.' However, what nearly no one knows is that Overdrive... was Endless' _main _plan."

"'Main?'" Lucy asked.

"Are you saying he had more than one?" Gray asked.

"Indeed," Hades said. "Overdrive immediately came to mind at Endless' birth, but he set up a backup on the off chance that it failed. In hundreds of humans, he instilled a portion of his dark power and gave them incredible abilities. These people couldn't hear his voice immediately because the power needed time to grow, but within time, it would get strong enough for them to hear him, and from there, he could get them to use their gifts to destroy all of mankind. Unfortunately for Endless, one spanner in the works learned of the origin of these abilities and made it public, causing a massive 'witch hunt,' if you will."

_! It can't be...! _The Fairy Tail mages thought.

"Many were killed, and those who weren't began to hate their powers. This hatred caused the manifestation to stop, and breeding with regular humans made its strength decrease, destroying Endless' backup plan for good. Eventually, they were all spared and allowed to live in a secluded area, given the task of forever... maintaining time."

"No..." Gildarts started. "Are you saying..."

"Yes... the One Magic, the source of all magic... stems from Endless!"

"No way!" Gray exclaimed.

"That's not true... that's impossible!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true!" Hades yelled. "Haven't you ever found it odd that so many kinds of magic were similar to Dark Bring? Coincidence, or because they have the same roots?! Haven't you ever wondered why mages used to only come from Mildea? Coincidence, or because they were only _allowed _to live there?! Haven't you ever wondered why said mages made it their mission to protect time? Because they felt it was noble, or because they were making up for the sin they inherited?! It all goes back to the One Magic, and there is but one person left who commands it: Zeref! Once I gain control of him, I shall be able to attain the ultimate magic! The true magic! The One Magic"

"...Is that what this was all about?" Natsu asked, looking both angry and bored. "For something like that, you'd kill everyone who couldn't use magic?"

"Regular humans can never truly understand magic, especially one of that caliber! If they were left alive, they would attack us, and the One Magic could never manifest within my followers and I!"

"So you want to use the power of the monster that tried to destroy the world?! You want to spit on everything the 'Rave Warriors' worked for?!"

"I'm not destroying the world, I'm reshaping it! In the Ultimate Magic World, everything shall be a utopia! Don't you want that at all?!" In response to this, Hades was blasted in the face with a fireball, burning him slightly.

"I don't give a flying shit about a utopia! All I care about is that you're trying to make a damn mess of things for everyone because of what _you _want! We're not going to have that, you hear?!" Natsu and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages looked at Hades with extreme intensity.

"Just try to stop me, then! Fairy Tail's third generation!"

TO BE CONTINUED

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**Fox: Since I don't want a bunch of questions about the Dark Bring thing, I'll give you a few examples:**

**Anastasia: Allows a person to heal anything as long as they have the stamina.**

**Sky God magic: Has a healing spell that can heal the caster, but doesn't restore fatigue, so stamina is a factor.**

**Vampire: Gives a person control over gravity.**

**Gravity magic**

**Giant: Increases the size of the user's limbs**

**Titan: Can make the caster bigger**

**Twister: Allows the user to twist things.**

**Reflector: Allows the caster to twist and distort things in a certain area.**

**Stone Roses: Anything the user hits turns to stone.**

**Stone Eyes: Anyone who looks into the caster's eyes is turned to stone.**

**The list goes on, but you get my drift and reasoning. Next chapter will be the entirety of the fight against Hades, so look forward to it! **

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**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive. **


	47. Ain't Losing Here

**Fox: To Hisui E. Fiore: Nice Job Breaking It, Hero. That is all. **

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**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

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The battle against Hades had finally begun. Because he was the only one not to have done anything yet, Gildarts decided to start things off with a one-on-one battle against the old man and was doing great. He destroyed all of Hades' chains before they even touched him, broke apart most of his magic bullets, and did massive damage whenever he managed to get close enough for punches and kicks. At the moment, Hades, forced into his second outfit, fired another chain at Gildarts, but he let it get wrapped around his arm and used it to pull Hades towards him.

"Haja Kenshō: Itten!" Gildarts shouted, delivering Hades a powerful uppercut that sent him flying through the roof of the ship. Or, at least, it _might _have, if Hades' body wasn't covered in a magic barrier that completely nullified the blow.

"Amaterasu: Formula 15," Hades said, dispelling the barrier. He then put a hand to Gildarts' chest and blasted him with dark magic. Gildarts managed to land on his feet, but he couldn't just run straight at Hades right now, since he used a lot of his remaining magic with that last attack. Hades, taking advantage of this, wrapped Gildarts in chains, threw him into a wall, and used his Bomb Formula to deal massive damage.

"So this is Fairy Tail's ace. Makarov not being here shows that he knows he isn't a match for me, so why would you fare better?" Before the rhetorical question was answered, a rope-like fire wrapped around Hades' arm, making him turn towards its caster, Natsu.

"Gildarts didn't have to beat you; his days of taking care of everyone are basically over," Natsu said. "All he has to do is pave the way for the rest of us!"

_Is that all I'm good for? _Gildarts asked. _Fine, I'll let you handle this for a bit. _He then shut his eyes, feigning unconsciousness.

"Is that so?" Hades asked. "Show me what you can do then, you who tries to wield Mavis' name." Natsu deactivated Red Bind and got into a pose that made it look like he would attack, but it was a distraction for Jellal and Gray to hit him in the back with Gegenschein and Ice Cannon, respectively.

_This man orchestrated mine and Erza's hell! _Jellal thought.

_He made Ur's daughter walk a dark path for personal gain! _Gray thought.

_I WON'T FORGIVE HIM! _They thought together. Jellal conjured up two Luz de la Lunas while Gray crafted an Ice Sword and both attacked in near synch. While Jellal was the faster one, he wasn't fast enough to deal a hit with every swing, but whenever he missed, Gray was there to get Hades with his sword through a pincer maneuver. This usually worked, but with one of them, Hades blasted Gray's sword with a magic bullet and knocked him away with a palm strike. Jellal tried to attack with his lances, but they got caught in chains, allowing Hades to throw Jellal into Gray.

"Amaterasu: Formula 24!" Hades shouted, engulfing the two in a large explosion. Fortunately, Jellal cast Kamakura in time to stop it from being fatal, but it still did a lot. Hades then started firing at them, but they managed to dodge for the most part.

"Alright, Lucy, time for us to go in!" Natsu said. "And it's thanks to you that we can end this in an instant!"

"Me?" Lucy asked. "How?"

"You just gotta summon Gemini and have them turn into Purehito!"

"...Natsu... Gemini can only copy someone with less than or equal power to me..."

"WHAT?! But that was the whole reason I brought you here!" Natsu then started to pout. "Just go, then!"

"I'm staying, I'll just do something else!" While they argued, Hades broke away from Gray and Jellal to strike Lucy, but was suckerpunched by Loke, who had shown up out of nowhere.

"You truly know nothing about women, do you, Natsu?" Loke asked.

"Shut up, you stupid furry!" Natsu yelled.

"'Furry?!'"

"Is now the time for this?!" Lucy asked.

"Right. By the way, Lucy, I came here with my own magic, so feel free to summon another spirit."

"Will do!" Lucy then brought out Cancer who, while he wasn't able to cut him, was able to back him right into Jellal's Reiki Kyūtai. As he flew through the air, Gray knocked him back with his Ice Make: Freeze Lancer. Loke then blasted him to the side with Regulus Impact, allowing him to come face-to-face with Natsu.

"Karyū no..." Natsu fist and forearm became engulfed in flames, "Gekitetsu(Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer)!" He delivered Hades a powerful punch that sent him flying into a wall.

"We did it!" Lucy cheered. "...Why isn't anyone else cheering?" Hades then emerged from the rubble, not as damaged as they thought he'd be. "Oh... that's why..."

"I must say, I was underestimating you all a bit," Hades said. "From here on out though, that mistake won't occur."

_I don't like where this is going..._ Natsu thought to himself.

"KATSU!" A blinding light then erupted from nowhere. When it faded, a dozen translucent ribbons coated in runes were floating around Hades' left arm. "The hidden Amaterasu Formula: Formula 1."

_I was right about not liking this..._ The ribbons then shot out at the Fairy Tail mages with great speed. They dodged, the ribbons only touching them a little, but for some reason, they all screamed out in pain.

"Formula 1, upon contact with a sentient being, immediately triggers nociception, or the feeling of pain, on a large scale. From that outburst, a simple scrape hurt a lot." The old man then donned a fiendish grin. "I wonder what would happen if you were wrapped in it?" The ribbons then darted at the Fairy Tail mages with incredible speed. They managed to dodge, but couldn't avoid getting scraped and put through immense pain. Also, the ribbons seemed to be indestructible, as Cancer(who was soon sent away) tried to cut them with his scissors, but nothing happened.

_This isn't getting us anywhere! Wait... he's just been standing in that one spot! He probably can't move while he's doing this! _Natsu, dodging more of the ribbons, leaped to Hades' right and opened his mouth to use his Burning Breath, but suddenly found a magic bullet fired into his mouth.

"Did you think I was defenseless while using this? Big mistake, boy! Thompson Rain!" Hades then started flinging his right arm around, releasing a large volley of bullets at all the combatants. "Now, die!" The ribbons from the Formula 1 shot out at the fighters, wrapped them up, and threw them to the ground: one for Lucy, two for Loke and Gray, three for Jellal, and four for Natsu; the pain they felt reached every single nanometer of their insides and outsides, causing an unimaginable torture.

_Now I get why Horologium protected Wendy in the first timeline... that Wendy was much weaker than this Wendy; if she had gotten hit, she definitely would've died...! Even though this didn't happen, we still barely got out of that one... _Natsu's body gained a crimson glow that, once faded, had him in Dragon Force, _and even if we end up a pathetic mess, we'll get out of this one, too! _Natsu managed to get an arm out of the binds and pull the ribbons off of him. Rather than let go, though, he kept them in his hand. Then, with great speed, he undid the binds on everyone else, now holding all of the ribbons in a big bundle.

"What?! He's holding all twelve ribbons?! Impossible!"

"Purehito... we don't really like this 'gift' of yours..." Before Hades' one open eye blinked, Natsu was right in front of him, "mind taking it back?!" He then threw all twelve ribbons at Hades' torso, making him yell out in agony and fall over. "That's how we do it in Fairy Tail!" Natsu then did a backflip back to his teammates who were now cheering him on. The celebrations were cut short, though, when Hades suddenly jumped to his feet and dispelled the ribbons.

"Unforgivable... unforgivable... UNFORGIVABLE!" Hades then ripped off his eyepatch, activating his "Demon's Eye" and increasing his magic greatly. "I shall kill you all!" Seven magic circles then appeared around him in an arch formation. "Amaterasu: Formula 42!" From each of the magic circles, an incredibly large beam of magic was fired, completely obliterating a side of the ship. Hades started to go into an evil laugh now that he thought he had finally killed his opponents, but that stopped when he saw an all too familiar figure in front of the Fairy Tail mages with a tattered body. "Makarov...?"

"If I had gotten here a little sooner... probably could have had time to pour more into the Sanchūshin..." Makarov said before falling to one knee. "Let's make something clear here, Purehito. I didn't go at the start because I knew I couldn't beat you... I just needed time to prepare myself... to fight the monster who was once the man I respected more than any other person..."

"Ha! A monster, am I?! So be it, then! If that's how it is, then this monster shall crush you all with the 'Abyss of Magic!'"

"That's where you're wrong, Purehito!" Natsu shouted. "You might've boosted yourself Kenpachi-style, but you activated it after taking way too much damage; that boost in power will only allow you to drag things out, not defeat us!"

"?! You dare get cocky around me! I am above all of you! Your master and ace have both fallen!" He still wasn't aware that Gildarts had faked defeat. "The rest of you are also heavily damaged! And with the rest of your guild all the way on the other side of the island, there's no way you can-" Hades stopped his rant when he, and everyone else, heard music coming from nowhere.

_And here comes our insurance..._

"Dooooooooon't say if I were you, (_Say if I were you_)," a voice sang, "or tell me what to do, (_Tell me what to do_) how things would be if you were in my shoes, 'cause you're not me!" A giant bolt of lightning then blasted Hades, leaving him charred where he stood. Right next to him, from seemingly nowhere, was Laxus Dreyar. "It's a good thing I'm _Laxus Dreyar_, or that might've actually hurt me."

"Ok, since when did our chances of winning become _amazing_?" Gray asked.

"Laxus!" Makarov yelled. "You've got some nerve showing up here after being a total asshole because of... something!"

_Look at that, they _did _forget the attempted genocide, _Laxus thought to himself.

"Why did you even come here?!"

"BECAUSE A ROBOT FROM THE FUTURE TOLD ME TO!"

"..."

"Oh what, like it's anything more ridiculous than half the stuff we usually deal with. And you!" He sent a small bolt towards Gildarts, making him jump. "Sleeping on the job is for the Pacos and Joses of the world!"

"You weren't knocked out?!" Natsu asked.

"I was seeing how far you had all come," Gildarts said.

"We could have died from that last attack!" Jellal yelled.

"Yeah... in hindsight, not my best idea..." While they were talking, Hades wrapped them both in chains and threw them with the rest of the group.

"I shall not accept such insolence!" Hades yelled. He then made a multitude of intricate hand signs that ended with his palms being put together, vertically. When he did, a pillar of light encompassed his body and four giant monsters appeared from the various piles of rubbles.

"They're big, but my ego still towers above all of them," Laxus said. He then noticed that Makarov had gone pale. "What's with you?"

"Leave..." He said.

"Huh?"

"You all have to leave this island, now! Get to the others and run as far as you can!"

"Here, let me pretend I'm interested. 'Gee, Grandpa, why would we wanna do that?'"

"Those hand signs were for the most powerful Amaterasu spell: Formula 108!"

"108?!" Natsu exclaimed. He had heard about that during his time at Mildea, so he understand Makarov's state of anxiety. It was an incredibly dangerous spell that turned the caster into a living time bomb. When the caster went off, an explosion that would easily cover the entire island would be born.

"I'll see if I can take him down before he finishes charging, but you need to get out of here, now!" Natsu and the others just laughed a little at this. "What's so funny?!"

"It's just funny to see you so afraid, gramps."

"What?!"

"Natsu, this is not the time to be taking one of my manly life lessons to heart!" Gildarts yelled.

"It's the perfect time! You told me that a true mage has to embrace their fear and use it to push themselves forward, but is he doing that?!" Natsu pointed dramatically at Hades. "No! He knows he lost, but he's just being a sore loser and taking us down with him! Is that something anyone who was a part of Fairy Tail would do?!"

"No!" The other Fairy Tail mages and Laxus shouted.

"Of course not! So let's remind him what being in Fairy Tail is all about! We ain't losing here!" Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Loke, and Jellal then ran at the monsters. Gildarts gave a little smirk and ran after them.

_So, you don't even need me to protect you, anymore..._ Makarov thought before laughing. _I've never felt so old, before! Give him hell, you brats! No, you adults!_

"Alright, listen guys!" Natsu shouted. "We need to destroy that pillar of light to stop the spell, so we gotta take down these monsters protecting him, first!" The aforementioned monsters started taking swipes at them, but they were slow, so the attacks were easily dodged.

"Open, gate of the goat! Capricorn!" Lucy shouted, summoning... Virgo. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

"My apologies, Princess," Virgo said. "We're still in the middle of reattaching Capricorn's limbs."

"You're what?!" _What did Jiemma do?!_

"Should I be punished?"

"NO! What am I supposed to do?!"

"As an apology, the king has asked me to give you this," Then, in Lucy's hands, appeared a giant, golden bazooka.

"The f*ck is this?!"

"A Celestial Spirit Bazooka: Montagne de les astéroïdes(Mountain of Asteroids). It will certainly provide enough power to accomplish your goal."

"Really? Wait, why would the king want me to have a bazooka?"

"When we asked him what we should do to help you, he said, and I quote, 'Get that bitch a cannon. Bitches love cannons!'"

"What?!" One of the monsters' feet then stomped dangerously close to Lucy. _No time for this! _She jumped back and aimed her weapon at its chest. "Position the target in the center... and pull the switch!" Lucy pulled the trigger, firing a giant blast of light(the force of which made her fall down) that tore a humongous hole through the target's chest, defeating it in an instant. "Holy crap! That was awesome!"

"Are you pleased, Princess?"

"Yeah! ...But I think the recoil dislocated both of my shoulders."

"Should I be punished?"

"If I could move my arms, I actually would punish you!" Two more of the monsters motioned to attack Lucy, but both were smacked away by Gray and Loke.

"Hey, Loke," Gray said. "We may be out, but let's show these guys how strong we are together!"

"Alright!" Loke shouted. "Regulus, bestow upon me ultimate strength!" Loke's hair suddenly turned into a mane, his hands into claws, his skin color into that of a darker pigment, and a tail suddenly appeared on him. "Yaban'na Hentai: Mufasa(Bestial Transformation: Lower Impotence)!" He then took his right claw and cut a monster in two.

"Tell me, Lucy, what's it like to control a furry?" Laxus asked.

"I am not a furry! And with that attack, I'm out of magic. Later!" Loke then vanished.

"My turn!" Gray shouted. "Ice Make: Trishula!" Gray crafted a giant three-tipped spear that completely skewered another monster. "One left! Who's got it?!" His answer was given by seeing their ace punch the aforementioned monster in the face.

"Can't let you have all the fun," Gildarts said. "Haja Kenshō: Itten Seigyo(Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Hyperuranion)!" Gildarts unleashed a powerful leg lariat that completely obliterated the last monster's body.

"You're too late!" Hades shouted. "My final spell is now fully charged! We shall all die together!"

"Is that right?" A voice asked. "Sorry, but I just became a father, so I don't plan on dying right now." Hades turned his head to see Jellal floating in the air, but his body was completely golden. "Tentai Ōgi: Gold Experience(Heavenly Body Secret Technique: Gold Experience)!" Jellal then flew at the pillar of light and punched it, leaving a crack in it.

"What?!"

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!" Jellal let loose a giant flurry of punches that, at the end, made the pillar of light shatter, signifying that the spell was negated. "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"Impossible!"

"'Impossible?' Just who the hell do you think we are?!" Laxus shouted as he ran towards Hades. "Metsuryū Ōgi: Narumikazuchi!" He blasted Hades with a powerful burst of lightning. The old man started to stumble, but he didn't fall.

"That's it! Everyone dies!" Hades then started to activate Grimoire Law.

"That's not very nice..." Natsu said.

"Of course not! I'm f*cking evil!" The spell was about to go through, but the orb of light suddenly vanished. _What?!_ Out of the corner of his eye, floating above the sea, Hades saw the sad face of someone he hadn't seen in practically one hundred years. _Mavis..._

_Purehito... _Mavis thought to herself, _I am sorry it had to be like this._

"PUREHITO!" Natsu shouted, making the old man focus on the fight again, but not soon enough to avoid having his arms and legs tied together by Natsu's Red Bind. "Remember this: when you mess with Fairy Tail, you mess with me, and when you mess with me, you get burned. Why, you ask? Because... my flame is the flame that will burn the heavens!" Natsu threw his right arm up in the air. "GIGA! FLAME!" Suddenly, a giant drill-shaped flame appeared around Natsu's arm, "BREAKER!" Natsu's legs ignited and propelled him towards Hades like a rocket. The drill flame made a large hole in Hades' side. When Natsu got on his feet, he dispelled the flame and, as soon as he did, Hades was caught in a giant explosion.

"We did it!" Lucy cheered as Gray helped her on her feet. "Right?" Gray nodded his head in agreement. "Yay!"

"It looks like the rules..." Laxus started, putting on a pair of sunglasses, "just got screwed."

"_YEEEEAAAHHH!" _someone shouted.

"Congratulations, third generation Fairy Tail," Mavis said, still being unnoticed by the others as they celebrated. "...There is but one trial left to overcome... I pray for your success in helping that idiot... my friend..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: And so, Hades is defeated in one of the most badass ways possible, but things are not over yet, as Natsu still has one last enemy(?) to dealwith: Zeref. Can he do it? Will he save his friends? Find out next time on **_**Fairy Tail Redux: Salamander's Time Travelling Escapades! **_

* * *

**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive. **


	48. Into Despair

**Fox: It's finally time. The moment you've all been waiting three months for. Natsu. VS. Zeref!**

**Pie: And believe it or not, this isn't the end of the story, just the end of part one, if you will.**

**Fox: For now, though, enjoy this awesome piece of awesomeness!**

**Bern: I'll try.**

**Fox: You're a downer.*Gets kicked in the face***

**Bern: Nipah, motherf*cker. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _Natsu and co. had finally defeated Hades, ending Grimoire Heart's invasion of the island.

_Shouldn't Happy and the other Exceeds be here by now? _Natsu thought to himself. He then waited a few more minutes and eventually heard Happy's cries for help as he, Carla, and Lily were chased by lesser members. _Wait, does this mean we beat Purehito without having to destroy his heart?! Cool!_

"AHHHH!" One of the mages shouted. "Master Hades got beat!"

"Good, your not all blind in addition to stupid. On that note, you should all make like a tree and get the fuck outta here." All of the grunts then started fleeing for their lives.

"Good work, Natsu," Makarov said. "Now, then, Laxus, we need to talk about the exact definition of 'ex-communication.'" Before anything could be said, though, Laxus summoned a motorcycle of electricity and drove towards the rest area while shouting, "Eat it, nerds!" "...Well, then. Is Purehito... you know..."

"Give me a second." Natsu took a few steps towards Purehito and smelled the air around his butt. "He's alive."

"With that wound?" Gray asked.

"Tis but a scratch."

"A scratch? There's a giant hole in his body!"

"No, there isn't."

"Well, what's that, then?"

"He's had worse."

"You liar!"

"Come on, you pansy!" Makarov smacked them both in the faces with extended arms.

"Can we hurry this along?" Lucy asked. "In case you all forget, I dislocated both of my shoulders."

"I'll fix that," Jellal said.

"What do you mean, 'fix?'" Jellal then grabbed both of Lucy's forearms and pushed them up with tremendous force. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Did it work?" Jellal received a kick to the face.

"Yes! Thank! You! Very! Much!" He was kicked at each word.

"Now then..." Makarov started before turning towards Hades. "Purehito... I don't know if you can hear me, but because of everything you taught me in the past, I have decided to let you go."

"NO!" Natsu shouted. "This guy is the leader of one of the biggest criminal organizations in the world! We're not giving him a timeout to think about what he's done! We're not wagging our fingers at him! We're not letting him go scot-free! He is going to jail!"

"...Fine, we'll have him arrested."

"Why are you saying that like it's some sort of chore?!"

"And then!" Happy shouted.

* * *

The group, dragging an unconscious Hades, had made it back to camp and were welcomed with cheers from all of their guildmates except for Cana, who was still depressed, Wendy, who was still resting, and the Raijinshū, who were all invading Laxus' personal space. They were also all given medicine by Porlyusica to restore their magic and injuries.

"It's great to have you back, man!" Bickslow said.

"I didn't exactly come back..." Laxus said.

"Laxus, I'm really happy that you're back," Freed said, ignoring Laxus' previous comment. "I know you'd rather be off somewhere else, doing something really important, but I just want you to know that…. that I'm here for you and… and that… I… I love you."

"What?"

"Wha- what did I…. did…. did I say it too soon? Oh god, I said it too soon! Oh God, I F***ED IT UP!" Freed then activated his magic to grow wings and flew away. It was then that Evergreen decided to open her mouth and say, "What a fa-"

* * *

"Got milk?" Natsu asked. "Anyone got milk? I'm thirsty over here!" Freed eventually came back, Laxus forcing him to keep his distance even more than he was already forced to because of his lack of money. Makarov had planned on suspending the exam, but due to some "convincing" from the Chairman, he decided to keep it going and have it start again a little after sunrise. This news prompted Cana to go talk to Lucy in private.

"Lucy..." Cana started, "...I'm sorry. I was so focused on this exam that I just ignored everything important that was going on, and I even tried to hurt you! I don't deserve your forgiveness, but please try to, if you can!"

"Cana... of course I forgive you," Lucy said.

"You do?"

"Yeah. Becoming S-Class... being with your father is all you ever wanted, so you were just trying to do whatever it took to make that happen. No one in Fairy Tail would get mad at someone pursuing their dreams, so why don't you put on a smile and we'll win this thing, okay, _partner?_"

"...Yeah." Cana then gave Lucy a hug which she immediately returned.

_Wanting to be with your father... maybe, some time after we get back..._

* * *

"Hey, Laxus, can you do me a favor?" Mira asked the ex-communicated mage.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like having sex right now," Laxus said.

"What?! I wasn't going to ask that!"

"But you're in love with me! You've been in love with me ever since... that thing... and then that other thing... but who could forget _that _thing, right?"

"You have no idea how we could actually be a couple, do you?"

"No. Wonder how anyone actually could, since we barely talk to each other. Only thing more ridiculous than us going out would be me and Lucy or Cana going out." Unbeknownst to them, both girls sneezed at this. "What do you need, anyway?"

"I need you to smile."

"...Okay." Laxus smiled for a few seconds and then went back to his scowl. Mira took a glance over towards Spot and then looked back at Laxus. "Why isn't that dog dead?! I thought your smiles did that!"

"Must not be a puppy, then." Mira then stormed off in a fit of rage.

* * *

"So, yeah, you can join Fairy Tail under the same conditions that Jellal-kun joined, Meredy-kun," Absoliutus said to Meredy. "I'm gonna leave you in charge of her, Erza-san."

"You won't regret this, sir," Erza said.

"Is this really alright, sir?" Lahar asked. "It worked with Jellal because we were able to say Siegrain was dead, but we can't do that with her."

"Well, it's not like any of us actually knew about her."

"? What do you mean?" Meredy asked. "Didn't you interrogate Ultear after her arrest?"

"Yeah, but she never told us about someone matching your description."

"...Really...?" _Ultear never told them about me... was she trying to protect me as best as she could...?_

"Moving on, can you believe that that green-haired guy is gay?"

"It _would _explain all the yaoi we catch him reading," Erza said.

"YAOI?!" Wendy yelled, appearing out of nowhere.

"Wendy?! Should you be up right now?"

"I'm feeling better. Now, I believe I heard someone mention yaoi."

"Are you really? I mean, you were dead for seven minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm Jesus, now where's the yaoi?" The Otaku yelled.

_Suddenly, jail doesn't seem like a bad idea..._ Meredy asked.

"Hey!" Wendy said, looking over at Meredy. "Are those... metallic legs?"

"...Yes."

"That's... so cool!"

"? You think so?"

"Yeah! I've never seen something so cool!" Meredy blushed a little. No one had ever complimented her legs before, so it was really nice for her to hear all of this. She probably wouldn't find it so nice, though, if she knew that Wendy's appreciation of them stemmed from a certain manga.

"Thank you... Wendy, right? My name is Meredy, by the way." Wendy grabbed Meredy's hand and started shaking it, making Meredy blush more.

"Nice to meet you, Meredy-chan!" The use of "-chan" gave Meredy's face a third layer of red.

_Looks like we got some lilies blooming over here!_(A/N: "Lily" is the literal translation for "yuri" in Japanese) the Chairman thought to himself with a smirk. _By the way, where's Natsu-san?_

* * *

Natsu was, at the moment, at the edge of the campsite, staring off into the distance with the wind blowing his scarf back, dramatically. He had been doing that for quite some time now, eventually drawing a crowd of every conscious person on the island.

_Come on, Zeref, show yourself, already! _Natsu thought to himself. _You gave me two years, and its time for you to partake in the fruits of my labor. _Then, out in the distance, the form of the Black Mage appeared, walking casually towards them all. "There you are, Zeref."

"Zeref?!" Everyone who didn't know Natsu's story said and or yelled.

"Quick! Fire the 'MNS!'" Lahar yelled to some soldiers who then threw the grenade-like objects at Zeref.

"'Made in Heaven,'" Zeref said, releasing black beams at each grenade that caused them to turn to dust.

"How did he..."

"This _can't_ be your plan to defeat me, Natsu. If so, then I feel that you truly wasted these two years I gave you."

"I knew it," Natsu said. "You know the truth about this timeline."

"Okay, can someone explain what's going on here?" The Chairman asked.

* * *

And so, Natsu told everyone on the island everything About Zeref killing everyone. About his memories being transferred to his two-year-younger self in another timeline. He also somehow worked in what Hades said about the connection between the One Magic and Endless. They were all shocked, to say the least.

"Hey, wait," Erza started, "if what you've said is true, doesn't that mean another Endless would be born?"

"No, not at all," Zeref answered. "Since my magic is essentially a copy of Endless' power, the universe thinks that Endless is doing something himself, and since there can only be one Endless or none, another won't be born from the creation of this parallel universe."

"Yeah, this universe that was born when the memories of the 'me' in the first timeline were transferred to the 'me' of this timeline... and when the same thing happened with you!" Natsu declared.

"Hmph. You certainly are much smarter in this timeline, Natsu. Yes, when your memories were sent to the 'you' of this timeline, the memories of the 'me' in the first timeline were also transferred to the 'me' of this timeline. Because of this, I remembered something very essential that had been nearly forgotten: life is meaningless. I used to think there was value in life, but since this contradicts my magic, I became unable to control it. Now, though, since I don't care at all about life, I'm able to fight at my fullest."

"Good. It wouldn't feel right if I defeated you and you couldn't fight for real." Natsu then took off his scarf, not wanting to make use of its protection, and turned to the crowd. "Everyone, I'm going to be selfish again and ask you all not to interfere. The only one who will be fighting Zeref is me."

"What?!" Many people yelled.

"I know that if we all fought together, it would seem like we would win, but this guy is a monster, and I'm the only one who can defeat him, for some reason."

"But Natsu-kun..." Fuyu started.

"Let me make it easy for you all," Zeref said, summoning a black beam and carving a long line between Natsu and the crowd. "If any of you step past that line, you shall be killed on the spot."

"..."

"It's alright, Fuyu, all of you!" Natsu shouted. "Even if you can't fight with me, simply believing is enough! If we all believe in victory, a miracle will surely occur!" Fuyu smiled at Natsu, and the Dragon Slayer walked towards Zeref, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"It all comes down to this, Natsu," Zeref said.

"I know. I hope you really want this, 'cause it's happening."

"There is nothing I want more than to die by your hands..."

"Yeah, I'm gonna kill you, but before all that..."

"?"

"I'm going... to understand you."

"?"

"..."

"...Understand me... Understand me? Understand me?! You had 400 years to understand me, and not once were you able to! You lost your chance to understand me a long time ago, so don't try to do it now!" Zeref then released a wave of black energy, but Natsu simply dropped to the ground onto his stomach.

"I've seen that enough times to figure out how it works!" Natsu yelled, getting up. "Anything that makes contact with the wave dies, but it has an unchangeable radius and its altitude goes up as it moves! By dropping down onto the ground at this distance, I won't be affected!" Natsu then fired his Roar at Zeref, but the fire suddenly gained a black glow and went back into Natsu's mouth as if their battle was a video and someone pressed rewind. _What?!_

"Good job figuring out how to dodge that _one _attack, Natsu. However, what is your plan for the rest of my techniques?" Zeref formed a black orb in his right hand. "Death Ball!" He threw the orb at Natsu, the Dragon Slayer dodging by a hair as it ripped through a tree.

_Toriyama's gonna sue someone, _Wendy thought to herself. Zeref then kept forming Death Balls and throwing them at Natsu, him barely dodging each one.

_Yes, Zeref, keep fighting me, _Natsu thought. _Let me learn all there is to know about you through your magic. "Who are you?" "What made you like this?" "Why do you want to die?" "Why am I the one who has to kill you?" Answer all of these for me, Zeref!_

"Is this all you can do, Natsu?!" Zeref shouted, launching another orb at Natsu's face.

"Red Bind!" Natsu shouted, wrapping the flaming rope around the Death Ball. _It doesn't destroy what it touches immediately, so I can do this! _Natsu flung the ball at Zeref. He ducked and dodged it, but Natsu was already in front of him.

"Karyū no Te-"

"'Mandom!'" Suddenly, Natsu had the Death Ball wrapped up again, and both were back to where they were a few seconds ago.

_Huh? Why are we..._ The Death Ball suddenly tore through the Red Bind, forcing Natsu to jump out of the way very sloppily and fall to the ground. As he tried to get up, he saw Zeref right in front of him, swiping both of his arms in a circular motion until the bottom of his hands met. The hand on top had the index and middle fingers pointing upwards, while the other hand had the little and index fingers pointing downwards.

"Natsu... I told you that this was your last chance..." A giant black beam was then fired from the sky that struck Natsu's center. He then silently fell to the ground, appearing lifeless.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive. **


	49. Friend

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

As Natsu tried to get up, he saw Zeref right in front of him, swiping both of his arms in a circular motion until the bottom of his hands met. The hand on top had the index and middle fingers pointing upwards, while the other hand had the little and index fingers pointing downwards.

"Natsu... I told you that this was your last chance..." Zeref said with a solemn face. A giant black beam was then fired from the sky that struck Natsu's center. He then silently fell to the ground, appearing lifeless.

"NATSU!" That was what a large amount of the people watching yelled when he was struck down. Because it was Zeref's magic, that told them all one, undeniable thing: Natsu was dead. All of the women, except Meredy, were crying. All the younger men were doing their best to hold back tears. All of the older men, except Makarov, looked at the scene with mixed expressions.

"...Before, I blamed you for this failure, but now, the only one to blame... is me, for foolishly believing you could bring about a miracle. It was too late 'back then,' it was too late in the first timeline, and it was too late now. Don't worry, though... your afterlife won't be lonely for long." Zeref then turned around and began walking towards the crowd.

_Natsu... what the hell, man? _Gray thought to himself. _You said that all we had to do was believe in you, and everything would be alright, didn't you? You said that if we believed in you, you'd be able to take this bastard down, didn't you?! Aren't you supposed to be the big hero who saves the day?! How can you just be lying on the ground dead like that?!_ He then noticed that a bunch of people had stopped crying, and even began smiling. _Why are they... _Gray then took a glance forward and saw why everyone had cheered up. _You always gotta keep us guessing, eh?!_

_What's with these people? I'm about to kill them, and they're smiling? Well, that's not too bad a thing to do at a funeral... _Suddenly, a hand grabbed Zeref's arm. In immense shock, Zeref slowly turned around to see a face he was certain he'd never see again. "What... is this...? I don't... even... Natsu?!"

"Metsuryū Ōgi!" Natsu shouted while simultaneously activating Dragon Force. "'Shiranui Gata': Guren Hōō Ken!" Natsu's body became engulfed in fire as he threw Zeref into the air and headbutted him with tremendous force that sent the both of them flying an incredible distance upwards. "And now!" Natsu grabbed Zeref as they fell and stuck out his right arm and formed a drill-shaped flame around it. "GIGA! FLAME! BREAKER!" The flame was charged directly into Zeref's chest and kept charging into it until they collided with the ground and caused a giant explosion. When the dust faded, Natsu was standing over a heavily damaged Zeref and being cheered by the majority of the crowd. Some people, though...

"YOU IDIOT!" Lucy, Gray, Erza, Fuyu, and Makarov shouted, in unison.

"You had me scared to death!" Lucy yelled.

"What do you think would've happened if you didn't get up when you did?!" Gray asked while taking his shirt off. "We probably would've all charged in and died!"

"Time your dramatic reveals better, dammit!" Erza yelled.

"I don't need you giving me a heart attack, you brat!" Makarov shouted.

"This genius already said that she doesn't like crying!" Fuyu shouted.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP, ALREADY!" Natsu barked. "I'M ALIVE, SO LAY OFF!" He then took a few steps away from Zeref and stopped. "Get up. I know you can still move." Just as Natsu said, Zeref did indeed get up from the ground.

"How... how are you still alive...?" Zeref asked.

"Figured _you'd_ know the answer." Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Natsu's chest began to glow with the same black glow that had appeared twice before.

_That light again!_ Gajeel thought amongst the confused masses, remembering it from when he and Natsu fought Baal Miran Big

"...It appears that I've made... a little mistake," Zeref said. When he did, a black glow identical to Natsu's appeared on his chest, as well.

"The same light?!" Absoliutus shouted. "How interesting..."

"It appears that when my magic transferred your memories into this timeline, a portion of it got 'encoded' into your memories, giving you a resistance to it. In short, you have absorbed a part of my magic, thus making it impossible to kill you with it!"

"?!" was what nearly everyone's faces said.

"I figured as much," Natsu said. "And the glow on your body... it's what keeping you alive right now, isn't it?"

"...What," was Zeref's response.

"I've finally been able to put it all together. The way this timeline exists, the way things are killed by you, the way you look so young, the way things get slower when this glow is here, the way Endless created the One Magic... I've connected them all. The connection is the true face of your magic. It's not 'Death Magic...' it's 'Time Magic!'"

"...Fufufufu. You certainly are smarter in this timeline, Natsu. That's right, the true face of my magic is 'Time Magic.' No one who originally wielded the One Magic was able to use it because they died before it could fully mature, but mine did, allowing me to access Endless' intended 'gift' in three ways."

"'Three?'" Jellal asked.

"The first is the ability to accelerate time: 'Made in Heaven.' This is probably the one you're all the most familiar with, as I use it to kill my opponents."

_Accelerate time? _Natsu thought to himself. _Then, whenever it looked like he was killing something with his magic, he was just speeding up the target's lifespan?!_

"The second is the ability to move time forward or back six seconds: 'Mandom.'"

_That must be what he used yesterday by Elfman and Evergreen... and earlier in our fight..._

"My final ability... is the ability to turn back time: 'Another One Bites the Dust.' With this ability, I was able to send our memories to our younger selves, and I am able to keep myself from aging. The latter, however, must be maintained continuously to keep me from turning to dust, so my magic has decreased significantly."

"Well that's lucky!"

"Is it? I still possess enough power to defeat you. And even if 'Made in Heaven' has no effect..." Zeref then moved his arms into the same position that they were in when Natsu was struck before, "I have other ways to push you until I die! Ura Mahō: Tenbatsu, Synaps(Hidden Magic: Divine Punishment, Synaps)!" The earth in front of Zeref then shot up and morphed into a very tall humanoid being with a blue suit, red parrot head, and short blond hair.

"The f*ck?" Synaps charged at Natsu and delivered a punch that knocked him into a tree. The abomination's left hand then turned into a claw as it it lunged at Natsu. "Karyū no Saiga!" Synaps was blasted with fire and fell back. Natsu then ran up and dealt a series of swift punches to its face before throwing it to the ground. Synaps, though, stood up and delivered a powerful kick to Natsu's stomach.

"Is that all you can do, Natsu?!"

_Damn! It's obvious that this thing is just stalling while he recharges his magic, but it's way too tough!_ Synaps then ran at Natsu again with a swipe of its claw, but Natsu managed to dodge, grab its arm, and throw it into the air. "Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka!" Natsu, forming his flame blade, jumped into the air and delivered a diagonal slash to the creature, but...

"'Mandom.'" Suddenly, everything was back to when Natsu dodged Synaps' previous attack. What Natsu didn't know about "Mandom" was that the caster retained all memories of everything that happened prior to its activation. And since Synaps was a creation of Zeref, it also retained its memories, so when Natsu moved to grab its arm, Synaps made spikes grow out of the arm to save itself from being thrown and to hurt Natsu. Before Natsu could respond to this, Zeref had gotten behind him and pierced his side with a large spear that had come seemingly out of nowhere.

"GAH!" Natsu coughed up a large amount of blood as he tried to force the spear out.

"Usually, the Spear of Cassius overloads its target with so much magic that they explode; I guess this is my magic's protection at work again." Zeref then picked Natsu up with his spear and rammed him into a tree. "You're going to have to try a lot harder to kill me, Natsu!" Zeref then rammed him seven times before eventually pulling his spear out of Natsu's insides. Natsu tried to move, but didn't have the strength to do so. Not only that, but the scales of his Dragon Force started peeling off. "I've grown too optimistic around you. Synaps..." The creature then started attacking Natsu with a fast assortment of punches, kicks, and claw swipes. It then apparently summoned seven fish, one of which was extremely large, and blasted Natsu with a beam from each.

"..." Natsu's Dragon Force had completely dissolved at this point.

"So that's that, then. I guess this world was doomed after all..." Zeref then lifted up his Spear of Cassius. "This is the end, Natsu."

_Yeah... it really is the end... I'm sorry, guys. Even though you all believed in me... in the end, I... in the end... I..._

_Are you giving up, Natsu? _A new voice said in his head.

_...? Who..._ Suddenly, a little girl with wings on her head appeared in front of Natsu. _You're that girl I saw..._

_My name is Vermillion, Mavis Vermillion._

_The first Master of Fairy Tail? Wait, how are we even..._

_My magic allows me to exist as what one might call a "ghost." Also, you haven't been stabbed yet because this is sort of an out-of-body experience, so time will not move as it should._

_Oh... why are you here...?_

_Look there, Natsu._ Mavis pointed towards the audience of the fight. Natsu weakly looked and saw what looked like transparent versions of everyone right above them shouting words of encouragement.

_That's..._

_What you're looking at is everyone's "hearts." Even though those people are silent right now, their "hearts" are screaming for you to fight. Are you going to stop knowing that?_

_I don't want to... but I don't have any power left... and these injuries..._

_Ignore them._

_What?_

_Ignore your powerlessness. Ignore your pain. Push all negativity aside and climb past your limits. Reach deep inside of yourself and muster out every last drop of power and win this fight! Don't let everyone's hopes be wasted! Honor their wishes and emerge victorious! Save your friends! Save the world! Save... save..._ A river of tears then shot out from Mavis' face. _SAVE ME!_ For some reason, flashed in his head. It was raining in an unknown place. Natsu was there. Mavis was there. Zeref was there, running his hand through her heart. For some reason, Natsu was seeing the day Mavis died. But something truly caught his attention. Mavis, though she had no longer had the strength to speak, mouthed two very important words. These two words gave Natsu the resolve he needed to keep fighting and awakened a hidden power.

"The last finishing blow!" Zeref shouted, swinging his spear down at Natsu. Natsu, though, caught it and threw it, along with its wielder, aside.

"Zeref..." Natsu started to get up. "Zeref..." Natsu was completely up. "ZEREF!" Suddenly, a flame shot out from Natsu's back that covered the entire reverse side of his body. His body became covered in countless scales, but these, as opposed to the Dragon Force scales, were dark red. His eyes turned yellow and pupilless, and his fingernails grew to an incredible length.

_What?! It's the same as Acnologia! Is this also because of my magic?! _As Zeref pondered what was going on, Synaps charged at Natsu, but Natsu unleashed a giant blast of fire that extended past the island and completely destroyed the creature, earning a thunderous applause from the crowd.

"Now... it's just you..." Before Zeref could even think of a guard, Natsu had gotten in front of him and slashed his chest.

"'Man-'"

"As if I'll let you!" Natsu's hands became covered in fire as he unleashed a flurry of punches onto Zeref. In the midst of that, Zeref somehow managed to get Natsu with his spear.

"I won't be killed that easily! Giman Nagisa(Deceptive Beach)!" The Spear of Cassius became engulfed in dark energy that was fired as a beam that knocked Natsu back. "Come on! How am I supposed to die like this?!" Zeref charged at Natsu with his spear, but the Dragon Slayer dodged, punched the tip, and somehow made the entire thing explode. Natsu then delivered an uppercut that simultaneously summoned a pillar of fire that launched Zeref into the air. The Dragon Slayer then somehow ran up the side of the pillar of flame, punched Zeref in the face, and, as he fell, blasted him with the largest amount of fire anyone there had ever seen, completely destroying a part of the island's forest. When Natsu landed on the ground, he saw Zeref lying in a crater, clothes nearly burned completely off, eyes half open, merely twitching.

"He did it... he won..." Lucy said. "HE WON!" Everyone then erupted into a tidal wave of cheers and applause.

"How fitting... that you receive this reaction... Natsu..."

"Still alive, eh?" Natsu asked. As he did, the odd transformation that took place began to vanish.

"At the moment... all that's left... is for you to end it... to end me..."

"...No."

"...What?"

"What?!" Shouted everyone else.

"You won't... kill me...?"

"That's right," Natsu said, now fully back to his original appearance.

"What... what are you saying...?!"

"Yeah, what _are _you saying?!" Multiple people asked.

"I said that I wanted to understand Zeref in this fight," Natsu said. "I don't know everything, but what I do know is that he's a person filled with tremendous sorrow. I've fought nice people, I've fought strong people, I've fought crazy people... but I can't end a fight against a sad person like this."

"Natsu..." Zeref started. Then, somehow, the Black Mage stood up and punched Natsu across the face. "You don't understand a damn thing! If I live, then the world is destroyed! That is a solid fact, Natsu!"

"The world will be destroyed if you live...?" Natsu then punched Zeref back. "Don't give me that crap! What are you, some sort of plague?!"

"I'll become that!" Zeref punched Natsu again.

"Bullshit!" Natsu punched Zeref again. "You don't want to hurt anyone, and you know it!"

"USO DA!" Zeref threw another punch, but Natsu dodged it.

"If you wanted to do that, you wouldn't have spent 400 years on this island, away from humanity! You would have just killed everyone in that time, but you didn't!" Natsu threw another punch, but Zeref dodged.

"Because you promised to kill me!" Zeref landed another punch. "You knew I was too afraid to kill myself, so you promised to kill me, yourself!" Natsu was hit by another punch. "All I want is to die, but if I'm going to live, then this world has to die! This world that will be filled with utter darkness!" A third punch was dealt. "This world that has completely betrayed me and those who matter to me!" A fourth punch was dealt. "This world... this world... this world that made me kill her~!" Zeref threw a fifth punch, but at the same time, Natsu threw a punch, creating a cross counter for the two of them. After a few seconds, they both retracted their arms.

"So that's it..." Natsu remembered what he saw with the two of them and Mavis. "It looks like we both don't know a lot of stuff."

"?"

"Do you remember, Zeref? _That _rainy day?"

"!"

"I guess you do. You probably remember 'her' moving her mouth as her life faded away. Zeref, what she was trying to say was... 'thank you.'"

"! That... that can't..." Zeref fell to his knees. "This whole time, I thought I was being hated by her... I thought that... without her warmth... this world served no purpose. Now though, you're saying all of that... and... and..." Zeref then broke out into a cry that Natsu stared at with little emotion.

"Chairman, sir," Doranbolt whispered, "what should we be doing now?"

"Nothing!" Absoliutus whispered as he cried. "Read the mood, dammit!"

"We need to do our jobs!" Lahar whispered. "The most infamous mage of all time has lost the will to fight, so we should be arresting him!"

"Fine!" The Chairman whispered, wiping away tears. "But just let the moment pass. We'll arrest Zeref when the sun comes up."

"?" Lahar then looked at his watch. "Shouldn't the sun have risen already?"

"Huh? But it's still dark. How could it..." Suddenly, a huge roar was let out, causing everyone to look towards the sky and see that the morning sun was being blocked by a large, black figure.

"A Dragon!" Multiple people shouted. The aforementioned Dragon then landed on the ground only to unleash another roar.

"The Black Dragon of the Book of Apocalypse..." Makarov started.

"Acnologia..." Fuyu finished.

_The Dragon from Zonia Mountain! _Gildarts thought. _This is bad! Even with the people we have here, I don't know if we stand a chance against that thing!_

"Even if we don't, we won't let it do what it wants!" Natsu shouted, apparently using Telepathy to read Gildarts' mind. "I've come too far to be done in by an overgrown lizard!"

"...That isn't necessary," a person pushing Natsu to the side said as he walked towards Acnologia.

"Zeref?"

_So you've finally begun to move... Shagorra. _"Acnologia is one of my sins. Just as only you are allowed to kill me, only I am allowed to deal with him."

"What? What are you..." Ignoring Natsu, Zeref got right in front of Acnologia and placed a hand on his claw.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Suddenly, Acnologia turned his head so he was looking right at Zeref.

"...Zeref..." he said in a low voice.

"He spoke!" Someone shouted.

"Oh? The Dragon who sees humans as insects is speaking to one?" Zeref asked.

"You are an exception," Acnologia said. "It is through your power that I came to be during the Civil War, so despite being an insect, you deserve my respect."

"_Civil War?!" _Fuyu thought to herself, remembering the "Dragon Note" she and the other Dragon Slayers listened to.

"However... what is this I see, Zeref? In your eyes, what is it that I see? Is this... 'sincerity?'"

"No, Acnologia," Zeref said. "This... is an 'understanding.'" Zeref's body and Acnologia's claw began to glow a dark blue. "An 'understanding' of how important this world truly is!"

"?! What are you doing, Zeref?!"

"I won't allow you to hurt anyone here! Acnologia!"

"You... you dare betray me?! After making me walk the path of darkness alongside you, you dare betray me!" Acnologia's body was now completely engulfed in the blue light.

"I did bring this life upon you... that is a sin which I will gladly pay for."

"GUROOOOOOOOOO!" A giant pillar of light suddenly shot up from the ground that engulfed the two of them.

"Natsu... create a miracle."

"What?" Natsu asked. "What are you saying at a time like this?! Hey!" Then, Natsu saw something unbelievable. Something he thought he would never see. He saw, below Zeref's right shoulder, a crudely made, black-colored Fairy Tail blazon. "ZEREF~~!"

_Goodbye... Natsu. Goodbye... Mavis. _The light then vanished, revealing that Zeref and Acnologia had disappeared.

"Dammit... you just left without telling me a single thing!" As Natsu said this, a sudden scene flashed in his head.

* * *

In what Natsu was seeing, there was a large, grassy plain covered in what appeared to be the afternoon sun. In the middle of that plain stood what appeared to be Natsu and Zeref as kids and Mavis Vermillion; Natsu was pretty sure that Mavis was also a kid then, but he knew Mavis was small, so he could have been wrong. Mavis had a black marker in her left hand and a red marker in her right, and she was drawing something below Natsu and Zeref's right shoulders, Natsu with the red, Zeref with the black.

"And... done!" Mavis exclaimed. The two boys then looked at what Mavis had drawn.

"What is this?" Zeref asked.

"The blazon of Fairy Tail! Do you like it? If you don't, too bad, 'cause I already drew it on my arm last night!" She rolled up her right sleeve to show a yellow version of what she had crudely drawn below her right shoulder.

"It's cool, but before we give this to anyone else, can we get a better artist?" Natsu asked, earning a smack in the back of the head from Zeref.

"It's alright, Zeref, I know my art sucks, so there's no need to get upset." Even though Mavis said this, she was crying a large amount of tears.

"You're crying again," Zeref said.

"No, I'm not." She said, wiping away her tears. "Anyway, this is just the beginning. Before we know it, we'll have our own guild that will be unlike any other. It won't exclude you if you're weak, it will give everyone a nice meal if they're hungry, and, best of all... everyone will be family..." Mavis started to cry again, but Zeref knew that these weren't tears of sadness, so he stayed silent. "Hey, guys... promise me that... we'll always be *****, okay? The three of us, no matter what, will be ***** forever, right?"

"Of course."

"That's obvious, ain't it?!" Natsu exclaimed. "The three of us, you, me, and Zeref, we're always gonna be-"

* * *

_You idiot,_ present Natsu thought as he fell onto all fours and cried. _You just vanish like that... and leave me with this?! Why... why did you have to go... when I remembered that we... that we... _"That we were friends?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Bern: Don't forget to review before you read something else. And if you do, try to make it constructive. **


	50. At Long Last, Leave the Island in X784

**Fox: Here we are, people. The end of Tenrou, and the end of part 1! I hope you're not planning on doing anything, 'cause this chapter's a doozy!**

**Bern: And it is here that I must take my leave.**

**Pie: Are you going off to do evil stuff?**

**Bern(with troll face): Maybe.**

**Fox: I have a bad feeling...**

**Pie: Shouldn't you know what she's up to, being the author, and all?**

**Fox(with troll face): Maybe.**

**Pie: Yare yare daze. Let's just start. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

And so, Natsu's battle had ended. After two long years, he had finally claimed victory against Zeref and saved his guildmates from total destruction. It was all he wanted... so why didn't he feel good? Was it because of those "memories" telling Natsu that he and Zeref were friends? Natsu just wanted something to cheer himself up, which is why they were still going to finish the S-Class exams. Right now, though, Natsu was getting a magical examination from Fuyu in the medical tent.

"Incredible!" Fuyu said. "All of your injuries are gone!"

"They are?"

"Yeah! That weird form you went in must have completely healed you!"

"Ah..." Natsu had no idea what that was before. Something just happened to him and turned him into something else. When it went away, so did the light indicating the presence of the One Magic, but it was still a mystery.

"Hey, Natsu-kun... everyone thinks that that transformation was some super powerful technique you learned during your training, but... that's not true, is it?"

"...No... Please don't say anything about it."

"I wasn't going to..." Fuyu then walked up to her idol and gave him a gentle hug.

"Fuyu..."

"For seven years, I've always wanted to see you again, but I never had the courage to go to you..."

_Again?_

"But... you became a Saint, so that meant we would meet even if I was too cowardly to go to you... you don't know how much I've wanted this, so... please don't push yourself like that, okay...? In a way that I might lose you... okay?"

"...Okay." Natsu then hugged her back, trying to remember if they've actually met. After their embrace, Natsu left the tent to rejoin the other competitors, leaving Fuyu all by herself.

_Natsu-kun..._

"Keep an eye on him?" Two voices from outside the tent asked.

"? Was that... Lahar and Doranbolt?" Fuyu then focused all of her hearing on the conversation that was apparently taking place.

"Do you really think Natsu has to be watched, sir?" Lahar asked. "Doranbolt and I have both been friends with Natsu for a while, and we don't think he's dangerous."

"_He_ might not be dangerous at the moment, but his situation is," the Chairman said. "He has the One Magic within him, almost turned into a Dragon, and even called Zeref his friend. Not to mention all that time travel crap..."

"So what are you saying?" Doranbolt asked.

"Natsu-san's life is one full of mystery, and I fear that it could be a mystery of a global scale. We need to keep an eye on him for the moment the truth of this mystery is revealed. And if he _is_ revealed to be dangerous at that time, we need to be ready to put him down. Understand?" Fuyu then heard footsteps, telling her that the three were walking away.

_So that's how it's gonna play, eh, Chairman?_ Fuyu thought to herself. _Don't think that this genius will let you do as you please, though. She's going to uncover Natsu-kun's truth, as well, and when she does, she'll protect him, no matter what!_

* * *

At that time, the teams of Natsu and Happy, Cana and Lucy, Levy and Gajeel, Elfman and Evergreen, and Jellal and Wendy were assembled in the middle of camp to continue the exam.

"As you all remember, you originally had six hours to find Mavis' grave," Makarov said, "but that's long since passed, so..."

"So..." They all repeated.

"...First four there move on! Go!" Before anyone could do anything, Cana threw a card on the ground that created a giant smokescreen. When it cleared, she and Lucy were gone.

"Well, we ain't getting anything done just standin' here! C'mon, shrimp!" Gajeel yelled as he ran into the woods.

"Wait!" Levy cried.

"MAAAAAAN!" Elfman shouted as he and Evergreen ran, as well.

"Shouldn't we go, too, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"First, let's figure out where the grave is," Natsu said. _There must be some sort of clue that we overlooked before. It's nowhere on the surface of the island; I've gone over the whole thing twice, so I would have seen it. ...It must be be hidden somewhere! Cana, in the first timeline, got Fairy Glitter from finding the grave, but she never said where she went... that doesn't help, then. ...Hold on... it'd probably be bad if one of us found the grave before the exam started, right? It seems like nothing could have stopped that from happening, but what if someone on the island was actually guarding Mavis' grave? But with the varying levels of strength, it would have to be someone strong... someone like... Gildarts! That's it! The reason Gildarts was at the "E" path is because he was guarding Mavis' grave so no one would find it by accident! That's where it is!_

_Is that right? _A voice said in Natsu's head.

_Jellal?! You're still here?!_

_I knew you wouldn't leave until you figured out where the grave was, so Wendy and I stayed behind to read your mind._

_Sorry, Tsukune! _Wendy said in his mind.

"Let's fly, Happy!" Natsu shouted. "We can't lose to Giorno and Eru!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy shouted, picking Natsu up and flying them towards the "E" path.

"Get on my back Wendy," Jellal said, knowing that his surrogate daughter was probably still too hurt to run such a distance.

"Okay," Wendy said, getting on her surrogate father's back. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" The two started to head to the grave, but then, after Jellal took a few steps...

"BLAARGH!" ...Wendy vomited on the back of his head.

"..."

"I'm sorry~!"

"...It's alright." Jellal kept moving, but...

"BLAARGH!" ...Wendy vomited again.

"Okay, let's move really fast, now!" Jellal then activated Fireball and sped off towards the grave.

* * *

Natsu's conclusion was correct, as he was able to locate the grave at the end of a hidden gallery in the "E" path. When he and Happy arrived, he saw that the teams of Cana and Lucy and Levy and Gajeel had already arrived.

"'Bout time you showed up, Salamander!" Gajeel yelled. "Becoming S-Class wouldn't feel right if I couldn't kick your ass!"

"You do remember that _I'm _taking this test, right, Gajeel?" Levy asked with a sweat drop. Natsu, however, was ignoring the two of them as he walked up to Mavis' grave.

_Mavis..._ Natsu thought to himself. _You told me to save you, but what did you mean by that? Did beating Zeref save you? If it did... why? Weren't the two of you friends? Weren't... the three of us friends? There's so much I don't know... why, though?_ As Natsu thought this, he heard the skidding of feet on the ground. He turned to see what _looked_ like Jellal giving Wendy a piggyback ride, but...

"Why are you covered in vomit?!" Lucy shouted.

"Never speak of it!" Jellal yelled, pulling out a towel from nowhere to wipe it off.

"I'm sorry, Jellal!" Wendy cried as she got off of him. "I don't know what happened! Every time you would move a bit, I'd just get really sick!"

"Wait a minute..." Natsu started, "you got sick... from a little bit of movement?"

"Yeah... why is that...! You mean... I've... I've become a true Dragon Slayer?!"

"WHAT?!" Gajeel shouted.

"Congratulations!" Fuyu shouted, popping up from a bush.

"Where'd _you_ come from, Fuyu?!" Natsu asked.

"Heh! Finding something like a grave is easy for this genius! Anyway, congratulations, Wendy-chan! I'd swing you around in celebration, but I don't want to get barfed on like _some_ people!" Jellal growled at this.

"Um... thanks?" Wendy uttered, not sure how to feel about this. "Hey, Fuyu-san, do those Dragon Slayers in the government get motion sick, too?"

"The ones I know do, and the ones I don't are probably the same. Meaning the only Dragon Slayer that doesn't get motion sick is..." Everyone turned towards Gajeel.

"Shrimp," Gajeel said.

"Yeah?" Levy asked.

"Give me a piggyback ride."

"Huh?"

"Now."

"What?"

"NOW!"

"Okay!" Gajeel got on top of Levy as she slowly walked around the gravesite.

"Faster!"

"But you're heavy! How long am I supposed to do this, anyway?"

"Until I look super sick! I ain't losin' to those other guys!"

"Okay..." Levy kept carrying Gajeel as she struggled to stay up while Gajeel yelled at her. Eventually, though, the iron Dragon Slayer's weight became too much to handle, and the two of them collapsed.

"I didn't vomit, so we're doing it again!"

"No! Now please get off of me!"

"Who knew that Levy-chan would _want _Gajeel off of her!" Lucy said with a smirk.

"HEY!" The pair shouted. Suddenly, the nine people there found themselves enveloped in a bright light. When it faded, they were standing in a completely different place. It was a large, flat piece of earth surrounded by trees. Underneath their feet were lines of chalk that formed a Pokemon-style arena(making Wendy have a nosebleed), and to the side was a large assortment of seats where everyone who wasn't just teleported sat, including Elfman and Evergreen; they would later learn that the two of them thought of the same thing Natsu did, but instead of Gildarts, they thought of Mira.

"Is this... the island on top of the island?" Natsu asked.

"It's official name is the 'Fairy Arena,'" Makarov said. "In the olden days, Fairy Tail's strongest mages would come here to do battle and see who was the best. Now, you shall all do the same!"

"We're fighting again?" Jellal asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Gajeel shouted.

"But wasn't the first part already a test of power?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, but this isn't testing 'power...'" Makarov started, "it's testing 'superiority!'"

"'Superiority?'"

"Erza, would you say that you're stronger than Natsu?"

"To be honest... no," Erza said.

"And yet you're still able to boss him around. Do you know why that is? It's because you exude an air of superiority that an S-Class mage _must _possess! As such, the final test shall be one-on-one battles where victory shall only be awarded when one person surrenders! The matchups shall be in order of your arrival at the grave, so all of you who aren't fighting, get out of the ring!"

"So that means the first fight is Cana vs. Levy-chan..." Lucy started, "and the second fight is... Natsu vs. Jellal?!" Natsu and Jellal just chuckled at one another as they and the others walked out of the ring.

"The first fight shall be Cana Alberona vs. Levy McGarden! Begin!"

"Alright!" Cana shouted. "It's my time to shine!"

* * *

The battle ended with Cana's victory.

"What about my fight?!" Cana shouted into the air as she walked off.

"And to think I got this far..." Levy said as she walked off.

"There's always next year, shrimp," Gajeel said. After that, the next two combatants, Natsu and Jellal, walked into the ring.

"This'll be interesting!" the Chairman said, eating some popcorn.

"Natsu-kun! Fight-o!" Fuyu cheered.

"Go get 'em, Jellybean!" Erza cheered, much to Jellal's chagrin.

"Kick his ass, Natsu!" Gray yelled.

"Give it your all and win, Jellal!" Wendy shouted.

"Second match! Natsu vs. Jellal! Begin!" Makarov shouted. The two combatants then charged at each other and punched the other person in the face. Natsu then initiated his Iron Fist, but Jellal dodged and fired off a Gegenschein. Natsu blocked with his Breakdown Fist, but it was merely a distraction so Jellal could kick him into the air while using Meteor. He flew up to get him again, but Natsu had managed to turn himself around and blast Jellal with his Burning Breath, making him fall to the ground slightly barbecued.

"Seems a little rare," Natsu joked. However, Jellal soon shot up from the ground and got Natsu with a roundhouse kick followed up by a Reiki Kyūtai.

"Yeah! Right in his smugass face!" HaōBaō shouted.

"How unbecoming..." Spot and Jura said, the former ending with a "woof." After recovering from the energy attack, Natsu ran in with a kick, but Jellal caught his foot and flew into the air with Photon Stream.

"Oh no!" Happy shouted. "He's taking advantage of Natsu's weakness!"

"What now, Natsu?!" Jellal asked. "If you want the torture to end, you're gonna have to give up!"

"Is that right..." Natsu said, weakly. "Karyū no..."

"?"

"Ōto(Fire Dragon's Vomit)!" Natsu then barfed all over Jellal's back.

"GROOOOOOSS!" The disgustingness of it made Jellal let Natsu go, allowing him to land on his feet on the ground below.

"Not so easy, am I?"

"You barfed on me, man! That's disgusting, and _you're _disgusting for doing it!"

"Am... am _I _disgusting?" Wendy asked, tearing up a little.

"No! You didn't do it on purpose, like _he_ did!"

"I want an apology, though!"

"Okay... I'll buy you some yaoi, later."

"Yay!"

"NO!" Carla yelled.

"What's yaoi?" Meredy asked.

"! Which definition do you want..."

"?"

"How about I teach you when we get home?" Wendy asked.

"Alright," Meredy asked.

"Really?! Yay! Meredy-chan, this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Wendy then turned away to imagine a slightly homosexual montage that resulted in her having a nosebleed.

_Is it too late for me to go to jail?_

"Can we get back to fight?!" Makarov yelled. "Natsu and Jellal were very kind to not fight while we were talking, but we need to finish this!"

"Does this mean we can keep fighting?" Natsu asked.

"I think so," Jellal said.

"In that case... Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka!" Natsu materialized his flame blade.

"Luz de la Luna!" Jellal crafted an energy javelin in each hand. Truthfully, he would've preferred to use "Tickover," but that's not the kind of magic sword that you don't have to do anything to fix, so he was stuck with this.

"Taimatsu!" Natsu sent out a giant wave of fire, but Jellal managed to cut through it and get right in front of him. He stabbed forward with both javelins, but Natsu managed to block them both, starting a battle of raw strength.

"Time to kick it up a notch," Natsu said with a smirk. Suddenly, Ryūjin Jakka turned black and started to emit smoke.

"What is _this?!_" Jellal exclaimed.

"My flame blade's true form, Zanka no Tachi(Longsword of the Remnant Flame). Feel honored that you're the first person in this country I'm using it on! Higashi: Kyokujitsujin(East: Rising Sun Edge)!" Natsu flipped his sword so the blade was touching Jellal's Luz de la Lunas. When he did, the javelins instantly melted in Jellal's hands.

"What?!" Natsu then performed a forward slash that Jellal barely jumped away from, being a hair's length away from getting fully cut.

"What do you think?"

"Incredible. I've never faced such power... I can tell just from looking at it that if I don't end this fight here, it's over. So..." Jellal put his hands into a circle and formed a green ball of energy. As he pulled his hands apart, the ball stretched out until it became very elongated and javelin-like, "that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"

_Oh boy..._

"Shin Tentai Mahō: Lanza del Relámpago(True Heavenly Body Magic: Lance of Lightning)!" Jellal threw his weapon at Natsu with incredible speed and power.

"Kita: Tenchi Kaijin(North: Heaven and Earth End in Ashes)!" Natsu unleashed a giant slash of fire that met with Jellal's attack head on. At first, both attacks seemed even, but Jellal's eventually broke through and hit Natsu, creating a giant explosion where he stood.

"_Deyamn!_" Multiple people shouted. With Natsu getting hit by an attack that powerful, it seemed like the match was all but decided. However, when the dust cleared, Natsu was standing where he was before, injured, but relatively fine.

"That didn't beat you?" Jellal asked.

"To be honest, I'm surprised, as well," Natsu said. "It must be because of my extra resistance to lightning magic."

"'Extra resistance?'"

"You see, in the first timeline, I ate Laxus' lightning and gained the ability to use it simultaneously with my own."

"Wait, what?!" Laxus exclaimed.

"Hey, you were totally cool with it."

"Like hell!"

"Look, it already happened, so deal with it."

"No. I'm going to pretend it never happened, just like most of _GX, _some of _5D's, _and all of _ZEXAL._"

"...Anyway, even though I never did that in this timeline, I still retained the memories of it, so the memories caused my body to adapt to them, giving me increased resistance to lightning magic."

"Wow..." Jellal said.

"And now... let's end this!" Natsu ran up behind Jellal with incredible speed and executed a perfect backdrop. When Jellal got up from that, he looked at Natsu for a few seconds before saying, "I surrender."

"The battle is over! The winner is Natsu!" Makarov shouted. Those who were rooting for Natsu cheered as he soaked it in. While Natsu showboated, Jellal walked over to the sitting area and sat down next to Wendy.

"Sorry I didn't win, Wendy."

"It's alright," Wendy said. "You did your best for me, and that's all a daughter can ask for." Jellal smiled and rubbed the little girl's head affectionately.

"Natsu Dragneel," Makarov started, "for proving yourself a master of 'power,' 'luck,' 'intelligence,' and 'superiority,' I hereby award you with the title of S-Class-"

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Someone shouted.

"What, Cana?!"

"_We_ still have to fight, dammit!"

"Oh, right. ...Take care of this fast, will ya, Natsu?"

"You got it!" Natsu exclaimed, annoying Cana.

"Don't let them get to you Cana," Gildarts said.

"Gildarts..." Cana said.

"Even though your opponent is a genius Wizard Saint who's at least as strong as Laxus, all you need to do is believe!"

"...Right..." Cana then walked to the ring with her head down.

"Alright, so we apparently had another fight left," Makarov said, with little enthusiasm. "Let's get it done."

_Alright, Cana, focus! So what if Natsu outclasses you in every possible way?! You can figure out a way to win, right...? ...Regardless, I'm not going to just give up!_

"I surrender," Natsu said, emotionlessly.

"...What."

"WHAT?!" Everyone else shouted.

"You... surrender?"

"Yeah," Natsu said. "I know how badly you've wanted this, so it doesn't feel right of me to take it away from you. I don't mind trying a second time, but there's no reason for you to have to try a sixth." Natsu then walked back towards the crowd.

"Natsu... YOU IDIOT!" Cana threw a beer bottle at the back of Natsu's head, annoying him immensely. "This is a lameass way to win! Get back here and fight!"

"Thought this would happen... are you sure _you're _not stupid?! You should be happy that I'm doing this, since you could never beat me!"

"Sure I could!"

"Alright, how?!"

"I don't know, but I could!"

"So, just to sum things up, I surrendered, but you won't accept that, saying you want to beat me for real, even though we all know that there's a better chance of, well, anything else than there is of you beating me?"

"Yeah!"

"Idiot! Accept my loss!"

"Never!"

"Oh for the love of... Makarov-san!" Absoliutus Teisingumas yelled. "Just pass them both, already!"

"But I already said only one can pass!" Makarov said.

"I'll give you some paperclips and a Subway coupon!"

"I still don't want to!"

"..." The Chairman then got up from his seat and ran around the "Fairy Arena" at an incredibly fast speed. When he stopped, he was in front of Makarov, holding a giant stack of panties. "I will give you the panties of every girl here(except the cat and the old lady) if you pass them both."

"What?! Really?!" Before he could make a decision, Makarov found himself taking the full force of the "Lucy Kick," followed by attacks from the other angry females. They also tried to attack the Chairman, but they found themselves unable to hit him at all.

_I need a new job... _Lahar and Doranbolt thought together with facepalms.

"I have made my decision," a bloodied Makarov said while the girls put their panties back on in the bushes. "Because of both of their skill levels, I am promoting both Natsu Dragneel _and _Cana Alberona to S-Class mages!" The crowd let loose a thunderous applause.

"You did it, Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"Natsu-kun's the best!" Fuyu exclaimed.

"Nice job, Cana!" Gildarts said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks..." Cana started before embracing the older mage in a hug, "dad!"

"What?!" A multitude of the people exclaimed.

"I have a daughter...? That's... great!" Gildarts exclaimed, hugging Cana back. _Note to self: destroy all of my pictures of Cana when I get home._

"Moving right along, let's head back to the base of the tree and party!" Makarov shouted.

"I love parties!" The Chairman said. "Girls get drunk and get _real _easy!" Lahar hit him in the back of the head. "Fine! I won't take advantage of any drunk girls... again."

"We're gonna party, Natsu!" Happy shouted. "You excited?"

"I guess..." Natsu said, looking at the sun in dramatic fashion. "What I'm really looking forward to, though... is going home."

"Huh?"

"Last time, I never went back home after the stuff on the island. Now, though, at long last, I'm leaving this island in X784. It feels great."

"It does?"

"My long fight is over. Even though there's still more to do, everything I've tried to do is over... and I couldn't be more fired up!"

FAIRY TAIL REDUX: SALAMANDER'S TIME TRAVELING ESCAPADES

THE END

* * *

...

...

...

..."You just _had_ to keep reading, eh?"

* * *

The scene is now a mysterious bedroom with sweets and bottles of wine everywhere. On the queen-sized bed lay two girls, one of them being the mysterious Frederica Bernkastel.

"I tried to allow you a happy ending, but that wasn't good enough, was it?" She asked... someone. "Well, you've kept yourself reading, so it's too late to stop. If anything bad happens in this Kakera, though, it's your fault."

"Who are you talking to, Bern?" The second girl asked. This girl had short, blond hair and amber eyes. She wore a pink hat and dress, white-and-pink-striped stockings, and shoes and bows of a darker shade of pink, almost red. She also wears black long gloves. The aforementioned bows are to be found in her hair, on her hat, on her dress and on her shoes. Some of them look a little bit like candies in shape. She also wore a pumpkin on her dress and a few green leaves. You can also see a row of small white pearls on the bottom part of her dress.

"Nothing, Lambdadelta, just talking to the audience."

"You were breaking the fourth wall without me! You know that's my CUTEST hobby(A/N: She says "cutest" in English)!"

"I honestly don't care."

"So tsun! That's why I love you, though!" She gave the blue-haired girl a peck on the cheek, making Bernkastel have the closest thing to a regular smile since her introduction.

"So, Lambda, what do you think of things with Natsu so far?"

"They're pretty interesting! I didn't expect him to win against Zeref; this is the first Kakera where everyone manages to go home on time!"

"Yes. No deaths. No seven-year-long comas. It's one of the best results they could ask for." Lambda then got a malicious smirk.

"I just remembered what happened in the last Kakera after Natsu went back in time! It's a good thing he doesn't know about it... yet." Bern then gained a similar expression.

"Yes. If Natsu Dragneel was aware of 'that,' the true magnitude of his previous failure would settle into his heart forever. But we would _never _want that. ...Yet." The two girls then started giggling.

"I do feel that Eva-Beatrice said too much, though. Not only did she allude to the Infinity Clock, she also let them know that we know about Salamander's Time Traveling Escapades!"

"What could we do? She's an idiot. Not like that information can save them, at all."

"True. Now, onto more important matters." Lambda sat up on the bed. "I believe tonight is 'Game Night.'"

"That's right. What were we going to play?"

"A roleplaying game!"

"Right. Let's play 'Schoolgirl and Person who has Sex with Schoolgirl.'"

"Can I be Schoolgirl?!" Bern nodded her head. "Yay!" The blond girl then started taking off both of their clothes in preparation for hot lesbian sex. Meanwhile, in another location, at nighttime...

* * *

Atop a building, a purple-haired girl with horns(one chipped) dressed in a pink jumper while eating cream puffs looked up at the sky.

"Everything in this Kakera has changed, sir," the girl said. "I don't know how, but surely, it will end up in my favor, sir. You'll make that will happen, right, ...Natsu Dragneel, sir?"

* * *

In yet another unknown location, this one being a rocky plain, the master of Tartaros stood facing away from the moon as a person suddenly appeared behind the master. He had tan skin, orange eyes, and long white hair that was smoothed back into three spikes on the top and sides of his head. He wore a black, high-collared, leather coat that has a red interior and yellow lining. The coat is grey from the waist down and has several buttons lining the hips, a belt around his waist, and a second one that extends from the waist and up to the collar to connect to several smaller straps. The four shorter straps are buttoned to either side of the front of the collar while the remaining ones are buttoned to the shoulders to form spaulders. A black leather pauldron is attached to each spaulder by three buttons and two straps that button the the rim of the coat and two more that cross over his upper back. Underneath this coat, he wore a white, thigh-length vest. This vest is also high-collared and exposes most of his chest, with three black buttons and two thin belts near his waist closing it up while the three remaining buttons below are undone. In addition, he wore wide-brimmed, white gloves with three buttons lining the forearms and a grey band on either wrist. He also wore black pants and black that are tucked into knee-high boots with silver trimming and high concave indentations in the top.

"What is it, Rizum?" The master of Tartaros asked.

"Master," Rizum said, "I regret to inform you that Acnologia has failed to deal with those on Tenrou Island."

"How?"

"Apparently, Zeref was there, and-" Rizum came to a stop when his master's magic intensified at the mention of Zeref.

"Don't mind me, Rizum. Please continue." The master settled down.

"Right... Zeref used some sort of spell to take Acnologia and himself away from the island. Right now, it's currently unknown where they are or even if the two of them are alive."

"Oh, they're alive, Rizum. That bastard doesn't have the balls to end his own life, and if he was sparing the lives of those other people, he certainly doesn't have the drive to kill anymore. Still, though, if my magic was at full capacity, I could have done more than just made that stupid lizard go to the island; I could have had full control of Acnologia and wiped them out!"

"I know. Remember, though, that there are only a few years left until you regain your full strength."

"Yes... only a few more years..." Suddenly, a wind blew, blowing off the master's veil and revealing to Rizum that the triangular structures looked like wings and that the master had white hair that went all the way to its feet, along with an ahoge. "Only a few more years until our battle comes to a close. How will you stop me this time Zeref? And also... Natsu."

* * *

**Fox: How's **_**that **_**for foreshadowing?! Thumbs up if you can figure out who Rizum is supposed to be. Sorry if this felt rushed, but I really wanted to end part 1 at chapter 50. Expect more awesomeness, soon, folks!**

**Pie: Aren't you forgetting stuff?**

**Fox: Right! First, reminder, the 100th. reviewer gets to have me write an omake of their choosing. Secondly, here's a little rundown of some things that will be coming up:**

**Natsu's First S-Class Mission**

**The Infinity Clock Arc**

**Wendy's return to the Pergrande Kingdom**

**Wendy gets a new love interest(not saying the gender)**

**X785 Grand Magic Games**

**That's all I'm saying for now! Toodles! Next chapter is the wintertime holiday special! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	51. The Fairy Tail Holiday Spectacular!

**Fox: Here we are at Part 2! Let's get it started!**

**Pie: By the way, Rizum is Ansem, in case none of you figured that out. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

It had been a week since the events of Tenrou Island, and things have changed a bit for the Fairy Tail guild. In the romantic department, after not making the qualifiers for the S-Class exam, Alzack finally got the courage to ask Bisca out after she comforted him, and the two have been happily together ever since, allowing the other guild members to stop wondering about when it would finally happen.

When the Tenrou Gang returned from the island, the guild was surprised by two things: both Natsu _and _Cana became S-Class mages, and they got a new member, i.e. Meredy. Jellal thought that, given where she was coming from, Meredy would receive the same kind of treatment he did when he first arrived, but in actuality, she was treated the same as any other member of the guild, both annoying and confusing Jellal.

"It's because Meredy-chan's super cute!" was what Wendy said when Jellal brought it up right before giving the aforementioned girl a big hug(much to her discomfort) when she finished receiving the purple blazon on the left side of her neck. Really, though, it was because she was just a kid, so they felt that any of her mistakes weren't entirely her fault.

In regards to Laxus, Natsu asked Makarov if he would let him back into the guild the day they went back to town. Here's how that went...

* * *

"No," Makarov said.

"Come on!" Natsu said.

"No! I am not letting him back until he finishes his super boss soul searching journey."

"Why would you let him back at all?" Meredy asked after managing to pry Wendy away from her.

"He's our friend!" Natsu exclaimed.

"He tried to destroy the entire town because of a Freudian Excuse. If our government wasn't run by an incompetent pervert, he'd be in jail!"

"You make a good point..." Makarov said, rubbing his chin.

_He's getting convinced! _Natsu thought. _Gotta do something!_ "Wow, Meredy! How did you score AYA HIRANO tickets?!"

"What are you-" Meredy was cut off by Wendy tackling her to the ground, demanding a ticket to the nonexistent concert. Meredy, freaked out by this, quickly got off the ground and ran from the scene, initiating a chase sequence with the blue-haired Otaku.

"Anyway, just stop being stubborn and let him back in, already."

"...Maybe, you're right," Makarov said. "Where is Laxus, anyway?" He got his answer when he turned around to see Laxus turning his body into lightning and flying through the ceiling whilst shouting, "Sayonara, bitches!"

"Son of a bitch took my scotch!" Cana shouted.

"Call me!" Freed shouted.

"...I need a drink..." Makarov said before opening his liquor cabinet. "Son of a bitch took _my_ scotch, too!" We now return to the present where Lucy walks into the guild to find some unusual holiday decorations.

* * *

"Hey, guys, what's with all the aluminum poles?" Lucy asked her teammates as she saw a vast number of poles in the guild hall.

"We're decorating for the holidays," Natsu said.

"I'm no expert, but I'm _pretty _sure Christmas doesn't involve poles."

"'Christmas?'" After a brief pause, the group, minus Carla, erupted with laughter.

"...Is something funny?"

"Yeah, you celebrate Christmas!" Gray said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Lucy's so silly," Happy said with a smirk.

"If that's not what we're celebrating, what is it?" Lucy asked.

"We're celebrating a much better holiday," Erza stated. "We're celebrating... Festivus!"

"...What?"

"...You're kidding, right? You've never heard of Festivus, Lucy?"

"Can't say that I have." Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy then burst into tears.

"You poor, poor child!"

"What is going on here?!" The crying mages wiped away their tears.

"Sorry. It's just that Magnolia celebrates Festivus every year, so it's odd to find someone not celebrating it."

_The entire town celebrates this?!_ "You haven't heard of this, have you, Jellal?"

"I actually have and have been celebrating it for years," Jellal said. "Though, admittedly, I _did _celebrate Christmas in the past."

"Why'd you stop?"

"Well, the first Christmas when I took charge of the Tower of Heaven got very awkward with the slaves."

"What do you mean?"

"They actually _wanted _presents. Could you imagine that? Me giving the slaves getting presents? That's rich, right?" Jellal then noticed the daggers that the group was shooting him during the reminiscence of his villainous days. "Look!" He pointed to the door. "A reason to leave!" When everyone turned, he activated Meteor and quickly escaped the awkward atmosphere.

"...Anyway, what about you, Wendy? Do you and Carla celebrate Christmas?"

"Christmas...?" Wendy asked before she began to cry.

_Oh God, not this thing!_ Carla thought to herself.

"I... I used to celebrate it... but..."

"'But?'" Lucy repeated.

"These two groups of people ruined it for me!"

"Someone ruined Christmas for you?! Who?!"

_Please don't get into this!_ Carla thought to herself.

"I was just an innocent girl, and they ruined what was supposed to be a great holiday forever." Wendy cried

"Who are these guys?!" Natsu yelled.

"There's no point in telling you... they're too powerful for even _you _to fight, Natsu!"

"What?! They're that strong! Who are they?!"

"They're... they're... Studio Deen and Gainax!"

_And there it is..._ Carla thought with a facepalm.

"Studio Deen... and Gainax?" Lucy asked.

"The anime companies?" Gray asked. "How did they ruin Christmas?"

"Studio Deen ruined Christmas with their poor adaptation of _Umineko no Naku Koro ni_!" Wendy cried. "And Gainax ruined it with their troll ending for _Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt_! How am I supposed to enjoy Christmas when two great series were ruined on that day?!"

_...It must be fun being an Otaku..._ was what the others thought unanimously.

_Okay... this is a joke!_ Lucy decided. _This is just some elaborate prank that the guild is pulling on me!_ Just then, the door opened and in walked Juvia and her boyfriend, Lyon.

"And so the duck says, 'Put it on my beak!'" Lyon said, apparently finishing a joke that made Juvia laugh.

"What brings you here, Lyon?" Gray asked his senior.

"You think I _wouldn't_ want to spend Festivus with my girlfriend?"

"You two are in on this, too?!"

"In on what?" Juvia asked. "Wait... you think this is all a joke?!"

"How _dare _you!" Lyon shouted. "My beloved Juvia would _never _joke about Festivus! That is a sacred holiday, and you should expect more of her, now that she's an S-Class mage!"

"Lyon-sama, Juvia didn't get promoted, remember?"

"...Oh... right. ...Excuse me." Lyon then quickly ran outside to do something, and at the same time, five familiar faces walked into the guild.

"Fuyu!" Natsu said, earning him a wave from the girl.

"Sting-kun! Rogue-kun! Lector! Frosch!" Wendy said, earning waves from the other four. Sting also smirked because _his _name was said before Rogue's, making Rogue's scowl get even deeper. "Did you all come to celebrate Festivus with us?"

"You know it!" The five exclaimed.

"Oh, come on!" Lucy shouted. "How far does this joke go?!"

"'Joke?'"

"Forget it!" Lucy then ran out of the guild in an annoyed manner.

"...Anyway!" Sting said. "Wendy-chan, I heard you got into some trouble on that island. You were alright, right?"

"Yeah, perfectly fine!"

"Phew! That's a relief..."

"I did die, though."

"...What?"

"It's true!" Fuyu chimed in. "Wendy-chan was legally dead for seven minutes!"

"...What?" Rogue asked.

"I even have a Badass Scar now!" Wendy said, pulling down her shirt a bit to show some of it.

"WHAT?!" The Twin Dragon Slayers yelled in unison.

"You were really _killed_?!" Sting yelled.

"Who was it?!" Rogue yelled, grabbing his blade. "Who's the son of a bitch that did that?!"

"He's dead, actually..." Wendy said. "You wouldn't have had to do anything, though..."

"Of course we would have!" Sting exclaimed. "We wouldn't just let someone walk all over you, Wendy-chan!"

"The next time someone tries to hurt you, tell us and we'll come teach them a lesson, got it?" Rogue asked. Wendy wasn't sure how to react. She felt that the three of them were friends, but they only met a little while ago, so she never realised that she meant that much to them. The fact that they said they would go to such lengths for her really touched Wendy, making her smile and say, "Yeah, got it."

_Looks like we've both gained some points with Wendy-chan right here, _is what Sting told Rogue with a look.

_Given the atmosphere, I feel that we've earned the right to hug her, _is what Rogue told Sting with a look. As they motioned to do this, they suddenly saw Jellal shooting them both a death glare, so they pulled themselves back and merely shook Wendy's hands, confusing the girl. Since Jellal and Wendy now had a father-daughter relationship, Jellal would become extremely ferocious around those prepubescent boys who were obviously after Wendy's affection... among _other _things. Now, let us go to Lucy.

* * *

"Stupid Festivus stuff!" Lucy muttered as she walked around. "Acting like it's a real holiday when it isn't and then making me seem stupid. Where do they-!" Lucy suddenly stopped her rant when she saw a familiar, now well-trimmed face, at an open cafe. "Dad?!"

"...Lucy?" Her father asked as he noticed her, as well.

"Um... no... I'm Luffy!"

"But you just called me 'Dad.'"

_Dammit. _Lucy hadn't seen her father since October, and even though they had decided to try and start over, the girl still felt weird around him. Despite this, she pulled up a chair and sat down at his table. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was out on business in the next town, and as I was coming back, the road I went on was suddenly hit with a massive landslide. It would take too long to get past it, so I decided to go through Magnolia. I was actually planning on meeting with you, later, but here we are, meeting now."

"It's a Festivus miracle!"

"...What?"

"Oh! Well, that's..."

"I didn't know you celebrated Festivus, now!"

"You know about it, too?!"

"Of course! The Heartfilias have celebrated Festivus for generations. We never did it when you were growing up, since you never seemed like you would enjoy it, but Festivus is a part of your heritage!"

_I'm not sure if I want it to be..._ As Lucy thought this, a girl of about 14 wearing a pink dress and bearing a slight resemblance to Lucy, though her hair was a darker blonde and she had blue eyes, came out of the restaurant coughing.

"Why does soap taste so bad if it's made of animal fat?!" The girl asked aloud.

"You don't eat it!" The girl then turned towards Lucy and looked at her for a few seconds before shouting, "NEE-SAN!"

"What?!" Lucy then shot her father a fierce glare.

"I can explain..." Jude said with a sweat drop.

* * *

The girl's name was Michelle Lobster, a distant cousin of Lucy, thus destroying Lucy's theory that her father had an affair. Apparently, the Lobster family met with a tragic accident a month ago, leaving Michelle as the only living member. Not having a place to live, she tracked down her "uncle" Jude and began working alongside him at Love & Lucky.

"Uncle Jude was going to re-introduce us when we would go down to your guild today, but here we are, seeing each other now," Michelle said. "It's great to see you again, nee-san."

"Yeah..." Lucy began. "I'll believe you when we said we played together as kids, but to be honest, I don't remember you, at all."

"You don't...?" Then, out of nowhere, Michelle started crying like a baby.

"Ah! What did you do, Lucy?!" Jude asked.

"This is my fault?!" She exclaimed. _Well, it kinda is..._ "Please stop crying, Michelle! Um... do you want something to eat? I'll buy whatever you want!" The girl immediately stopped crying.

"Waiter!" She called out. "One of everything on the menu, please."

_Dammit!_ "Well... after you're done, how about we head down to the guild?"

"Really?" Jude asked.

"Yeah! Since you're both here, you might as well spend the day there!"

"Yay!" Michelle cheered. "I get to spend Festivus with nee-san!"

_Her, too..._

* * *

After Michelle completely drained Lucy's wallet, the three of them headed back to the guild. The two people who were with Lucy were warmly welcomed, though Jude mostly because Lucy had mostly forgiven him.

"Okay, everyone!" Fuyu shouted. "While all the awesome stuff that happened on Tenrou was going on, the Chairman recorded everything with Lacrima, and this genius has compiled all of the events into a movie! Who wants to watch?!" The water Dragon Slayer was met with a near unanimous "yes." "Alright!" Fuyu picked up a large Lacrima and slapped the top of it, causing it to project an image in the air.

* * *

At Fuyu's appearance in Levy and Gajeel's fight...

"Fuyu sure showed you," Rogue said.

"Shut up, Raios!" Gajeel yelled. He then noticed that Jet and Droy were laughing, so he shot them a vicious glare to shut them up. At that moment, though, he remembered what Fuyu said before he lost consciousness. _Have I really gone soft...?_

* * *

At Wendy's fight against Azuma...

"YEAH!" shouted Sting and Rogue. Then, when Wendy died... "NOOOOO!" Then, when Wendy came back to life... "WENDY~!" The two boys both gave Wendy a hug, making Wendy blush and making Jellal summon his Luz de la Luna before being elbowed in the gut by Erza.

* * *

At Jiemma's fight against Caprico...

"Did he have to be so violent with Capricorn?" Lucy asked.

"Poor Goat-san..." Michelle said while eating a muffin that no one gave her.

"...That tengu..." Sting started.

"...He's pretty cool..." Rogue finished.

* * *

At Gray's fight against Kain...

"He liiiikes her!" Happy whispered, causing Gray to freeze his head.

* * *

At Erza's fight against Meredy...

_Hah! _Now _they'll treat Meredy like an outsider!_ Jellal thought.

"Wow... that girl sure had it rough..." One person said.

"It's amazing that she managed to get where she is..." Another person said.

_Come on! _Jellal thought. _What's a guy gotta do to get a little girl ostracized?! ...What's wrong with me?_

"Poor Meredy-chan~!" Wendy said while hugging the girl.

"Please let go of me," Meredy said.

* * *

At Spot's fight against Rustyrose...

_Stupid dog! You made us look bad! _The Strausses thought together.

* * *

At Klaus' fight against Bluenote...

"_Shagorra." ...Why does that sound familiar? _Natsu thought to himself.

* * *

At the big fight against Hades, while everyone was cheering on the awesomeness, Wendy had a nosebleed at Jellal and Natsu's last attacks.

* * *

At Natsu's fight against Zeref, a good majority of the viewers' jaws fell agape.

_Oh yeah, we didn't tell everyone about that stuff..._ Natsu thought to himself. After that, the only thing shown was the rest of the exam, and the movie ended.

"Alright, now that that's done, let's eat!" Makarov shouted as everyone moved towards the table. "And now that we're all here for Festivus dinner, it's time for the Airing of Grievances!"

"'Airing of Grievances?'" Lucy asked.

"You'll love this, nee-san!" Michelle said. "This is when everyone at the table takes turns saying how everyone else disappointed them the past year!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, and I got a lot of problems with you people!" Makarov shouted. His complaints were mainly about the destruction the guild always caused. Everyone else's tended to be about poor performance on Jobs or "annoying" behavior. Some did get personal, like when Lucy talked about her father a bit, but despite what was being done, things stayed light. Then, it was Fuyu's turn to grieve...

_What do I do?! _She thought to herself. _This genius could never talk bad about Natsu-kun! But this genius could also never go against Festivus, the greatest holiday ever! There's only one option left! _Fuyu took out a bottle of pills and consumed a large number of them. After a few seconds, she fell face first onto the table.

"Did she just knock herself out?" Natsu asked. "I'm not sure if it's okay to laugh at this..."

"...Anyway!" Makarov interjected. "It is now time for the Feats of Strength! And for all he's done this year, the honor goes to Natsu!"

"I'd love to, but I should get Fuyu outta here, 'cause she, ya know, lost consciousness." Natsu then put the girl on his back and carried her out of the guild.

"But who'll do the Feats of Strength?"

"I will!"

"Lucy?!"

"Really?" Jude asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "This holiday is obviously important to you, so I'm gonna make it important to me, too!" Jude gave a slight smile to this. "So I'm guessing I have to fight someone. Who?"

"Me!" Makarov shouted.

"...What?!"

"Until you pin me, Lucy, Festivus is not over. Let's rumble!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

* * *

**Fox: And it was the best Festivus ever. The end.**

**Pie: ...That was the shittiest chapter ever.**

**Fox: Maybe, but I feel proud to be the first anime fanfic writer to incorporate Festivus. Next chapter begins Natsu's first S-Class Job, but for now, we have... **

* * *

**Wendy: FAIRY CHANNEL! That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! We've already burst into the sixth episode of **_**Fairy Channel! **_**I hope that you've all become familiar with this corner. I'm Wendy Marvell! GAKYUUUN!**

**Fox: Lame!**

**Wendy(In deep voice): You say something?!**

**Fox: ...**

**Wendy(In her cute voice): It appears that newbie Mr. Fox isn't used to the job and is a nervous wreck.**

**Fox: I'm scared... So scared... What did I do wrong?**

**Wendy: You're all making his heart race. I hope he gets used to the job soon.**

**Fox: We did the Festivus stuff 'cause Wendy said so. Yeah. We did the HoYay stuff with Meredy, too. I'm doing everything I can to make this story better!**

**Wendy: And he better watch how he talks to the veterans around here or else something may happen.**

**Fox: Yeah... the gum was hard... but it was fifty-four pieces. Fifty-four pieces in my mouth!**

**Wendy: I'd hate that!*Gives a censored middle finger* Today we'll introduce a new member of our fanbase... richardalison86-san!**

**Fox: But I still worked hard! What else will I have to do?!*Gets kicked by Wendy under table***

**Wendy(In deep voice): Hey. Stop blubbering.**

**Fox: Why me?!**

**Wendy(In her cute voice): Let's see... richardalison86-san. 12 years old. His hobbies are unknown.**

**Fox: Uh... according to the data, he's written two **_**Fairy Tail **_**stories, and his favorite manga are Naruto, Detective conan, Fairy tail, One piece, and Doraemon.**

**Wendy: So he's probably an Otaku.**

**Fox: Uh... looks like it...*Sees Wendy looking bored* **_**Gotta think of something! **_**By "Otaku," you mean people who watch House Classics, right? The ones who watch **_**A Dog of Flanders **_**and cry, right?**

**Wendy(In deep voice): Hah?! What decade of Otaku are you thinking of?! Are you doing your homework?! Get with the program!**

**Fox: N-no, uh...**

**Wendy: Well, I guess **_**A Dog of Flanders **_**had the whole cutesy, appealing character to soothe you. **

**Wendy(In her cute voice): But people these days prefer a girl like me! Cute as a button and pure as snow! You know what I mean? If I look right, so do you! If I look left, so do you! While you line up for my concert the night before, you can't take a shower! That may cause hygienic problems... but you still want to see me! That determination burns as hot as the sun in wait of my arrival! Until the bandanna around your head is drenched!**

**Wendy(In deep voice): ...You know... they're still customers. When I'm doing handshakes afterward, they won't stop talking. Yapping away during MC without reading the crowd. Doesn't that just blow? I'm only here because of them. I have to work hard for them. Y'know? **

**Fox: Is that how it is?**

**Wendy: You'll know soon enough. How hard it is to be famous... Once you've been through the good and bad, you'll see how it really is. Can't do anything about fans or clients you hate...*The theme music goes off* **

**Wendy(In her cute voice): Perfect timing! Hey, everybody! Do you know who richardalison86-san is now? Then we'll see you in the next **_**Fairy Channel! **_**Bye-bee!*Curtain drops***

**Fox: Uh... you didn't even introduce richardalison86-san... it was more like you introduced Otakus.*Wendy exhales* Wendy? Are you alright?**

**Wendy(In deep voice): Do it.**

**Fox: Understood! What the correspondent saw then was...**

**Wendy: Not funny.*Screen fades to black* **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	52. Natsu's First S-Class Job! その１

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The month was January. The year was X785. For the first time, Natsu and the "Tenrou Gang" were able to reach both of these, not in just this timeline, but out of every timeline. With the new year having begun, Natsu had gone to the second floor to do something he had yet to do: his very first S-Class Job.

"I just don't know what to do~," Natsu said as his eyes darted around the posters asking for monsters to be slain and artifacts to be discovered. "If I'm gonna pick something for my first S-Class Job, it's gotta be something really cool!" As his eyes kept searching for something, they finally stopped at something very interesting. "'Rescue the White Pixie. Further details will be given by client. Reward: 10,000,000 Jewels.' Mmm... a 'pixie' is like a fairy, right? This sounds perfect for me!" Natsu then quickly ripped off the poster. "Alright, I've decided! My first S-Class Job shall be to 'Rescue the White Pixie!'"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" A voice said behind him.

"...What do you mean, Cana?"

"Well, I haven't done an S-Class Job yet, so if you're going on one, we might as well go together, right?"

"...Yeah... I kinda wanted to do this by myself, so..."

"DAD! Natsu's won't let me go on a Job with him!"

"NATSU!" Gildarts yelled from afar, exuding the same energy he did during their fight on Tenrou Island.

"Okay, I'll take her!"

* * *

The next day, Natsu and Cana set off on their Job. Even though it was the middle of winter, Natsu's "fire" affinity made it so he could dress the same he always did, while Cana was forced to actually wear a jacket over her usually half-naked chest. The former of these two's affinity, however, did nothing for the motion sickness the train ride was inducing.

"Too bad I don't have a card that can make a train. If I did, I coulda beat you on the island!" Cana said with a chuckle.

"Shut up..." Natsu said, weakly.

"It is rather unbecoming," said the little girl sitting across from them wearing pink snow pants and a white parka.

"...Why are you here again... Meredy..."

"I need to get in some more Jobs for January so I don't get arrested."

"Why this, though? Erza made me take you along, so there must be a specific reason..."

"..."

* * *

"You need to make more friends!" Wendy said to Meredy yesterday.

"...What are you saying, all of a sudden?" Meredy asked.

"What Wendy's saying, Meredy, is that you've been in the guild for a month now, and you've hardly talked to anyone," Erza said.

"So?"

"Don't you want to make friends?"

"I didn't come here to make friends. I came here to change myself."

"Then why are you friends with Wendy and I?"

"I owe you a great deal for what happened on the island. Wendy... to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how that happened."

"That hurts, Meredy-chan..." Wendy whined.

"Look, Meredy, it's no fun being in a guild and not getting along with people, so do something to get on good terms with people," Erza said.

"I don't want to," Meredy responded. Erza then put a menacing scowl on her face.

"That wasn't a request."

"!"

* * *

_Then Erza forcedme into this Job so I could start warming up to others, _Meredy thought to herself in the present. _Why this Job, specifically, though? Even though I don't _hate _them anymore, I still have negative feelings for Jellal, Natsu, and Gray. Being on this Job is weird._ "There's no reason for me being here."

"Really?" Natsu asked. "It seems weird that..." At that moment, the train stopped at their destination of the town of Abies. "YES!" The S-Class mage then quickly ran off the train.

"Well, let's go, kid," Cana said.

"...Right," Meredy responded.

* * *

After leaving the station, the three of them headed to an open area of the nearby forest, as instructed by the poster, to meet with their client. So far, though, an hour had passed, and no one had appeared.

"Where the hell is the client?" Natsu asked aloud. "You don't think this was a prank Job, do you?"

"No way!" Cana exclaimed. "Though... it _does _sound weird. What the hell is a 'pixie,' anyway?"

"If we came all the way out here for nothing..."

_I wouldn't mind going home right now, _Meredy thought to herself. _Might as well get a head start. _The girl with the bionic legs turned around to head back to the train station when she came face-to-face with something that gave her a fright. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Meredy! Why are you screaming in an out-of-character manner?!" Natsu and Cana turned around to see that the girl was facing what appeared to be a six foot tall skeleton. "A skeleton?!" Then, a large number of skeletons, all the same height, suddenly jumped out of the ground.

"The hell is this?!" Cana yelled.

"Bones... scary..." Meredy said. "Bones... scary... bones... SCARY!" The girl, now a frightened mess, quickly climbed to the top of a tree to get away from the skeletons.

"Didn't see _that _coming..." Just then, a skeleton jumped at Cana, but it was pushed back by Natsu.

"Time for a monster mash!" Natsu exclaimed. He and Cana then started an all-out brawl against the army of the undead. However, what originally seemed like an easy fight soon became rather challenging. The skeletons were pretty fast and strong, and their bones were as hard as steel; the two S-Class mages were taking a good beating. Things might have been easier if Meredy was helping, but...

"Make them go away! Make them go away!" is what she cried up in the tree.

"Dammit, Meredy!" Natsu then got punched in the face by a skeleton.

"Natsu, hurry up and use Dragon Force!" Cana yelled.

"Oh, you think I should? I was actually thinking of _not _using that." As the sarcasm sunk in, three skeletons in front of Natsu were suddenly cut in half by a spiralling blast of wind. "Huh?" Natsu and Cana turned to see a new face. It was a tall, muscular, leopard-esque sentinoid with a black suit, top hat, and goatee.

"Who are _you_?" Cana asked.

"Hmph," the leopard man said. "To think that Fairy Tail's S-Class would have trouble with things like these."

"What was that?!" Natsu yelled. The skeletons then charged at the leopard man, but before they got to him, another person appeared in between the skeletons and the sentinoid. It was a girl who seemed to be Meredy's age with amber eyes, lavender hair that featured ojou ringlets, and an emotionless face. On her lower body, she wore white boots and black leg warmers that left half of her thighs bare that were connected by yellow strings to a black leotard. On her upper body, she wore a dark blue hat and longcoat, a white bib-like cloth, and a sort of golden plating on her left arm. "Another one?!"

"Shall we BEGIN?" The girl asked. In her right hand, a red energy longsword appeared that she used to cut down a multitude of skeletons.

_Again?! _Natsu thought, not believing that the monsters they had so much trouble against were being defeated so easily.

"Look out below!" A voice yelled. After it did, the remaining skeletons were destroyed by a rain of red blade-like objects. A very large one then fell right in front of Natsu that had a person standing atop it. He had incredibly spiky brown hair, wore a brown sweater vest and blue shorts, both exposing large scars, and stared at Natsu with a sort of twisted look. "Pretty weak, man. Do _we _really need to be _your _clients?"

"?!"

"You guys... are the clients?" Cana asked. "Who the hell _are _you guys?!"

"Are the skeletons gone?" Meredy asked from the tree. The leopard man climbed up the tree and grabbed Meredy with his tail to bring her down.

"Allow me to EXPLAIN," the girl said. "My name is Dlanor A. Knox, ranked 10th. in Sen'ya Ichiya's Judal DIVISION. The sentinoid is Hikaru Steal, ranked 9th, and the man in front of you, Natsu, is Sen, ranked ELEVENTH."

"'Sen'ya Ichiya?!'" Natsu exclaimed.

"The hell is that?" Cana asked.

"The government's elite group of covert mages who handle tasks that can't be made public. They're split into three groups: the Judal Division, which is known to be ferocious in battle, the Scheherazade Division, which makes great use of intelligence, and the Yunan Division, which is sort of a mixture of the first two."

"And these guys are from Judal..." Meredy started, "meaning..."

"We're a buncha twisted bastards!" Sen yelled while making a scary face, causing Meredy to hide behind a tree.

"Please don't frighten the girl, Sen," Hikaru said.

"Look, can you explain why the government's involved in a regular Job?" Cana asked. "And if you do things that can't be made public, why would you send out a Job request, anyway?"

"Actually, the Job was only sent to Fairy Tail, as, based on overall ability, you seemed to be the best guild to employ for the mission."

"And it is...?"

"Right, the specifics. The White Pixies are spiritual beings that watch over the planet, carefully taking record of all happenings throughout time and slipping their discoveries into our studies every now and then. Somehow, a group of thieves by the name of 'The Undeadz' captured one of the White Pixies and are planning to sell it for a large sum of money in the country of Seven, and we can't let that happen."

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"The country of Seven has strict laws pertaining sales that the government isn't able to interfere WITH," Dlanor said. "If the White Pixie is sold there, we would be unable to release it back to the WORLD. Not only that, but the possibility of the buyer letting his purchase be known is large, so failure here means that the White Pixies will be exposed to all inhabitants of Earth LAND. It is for these reasons that we of the Judal Division have been asked to stop 'The Undeadz' from going into Seven with assistance from Fairy TAIL."

"...Are you kidding me?!"

"? Excuse ME?"

"This is a _guild's _Job! The government doesn't have the right to be here! We'll take care of those thieves, 'The Undeadz,' but you three gotta go!" As Natsu finished his rant, Dlanor was suddenly in front of him with the point of a blue energy short sword at his neck.

_Bad move, man! _Sen thought.

_You'd be wise not to annoy Dlanor, _Hikaru thought. _Us of the Sen'ya Ichiya have the authority to kill our targets, and this girl has the highest kill record of our whole division, earning her the title "Death Sentence" Dlanor._

"You should know where you stand, _Mr. _Natsu," Dlanor said. "I am ranked in the top ten of my Division, meaning that, while on duty, I have authority equal to a member of the Magic COUNCIL. As such, our cooperation should be looked at as an order, RIGHT?" Natsu reluctantly nodded his head. "Very well, THEN." She then dispelled her blade. "Now that that's done..." Her stoic face then suddenly gained a cat mouth smile, "shall we BEGIN?"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	53. Natsu's First S-Class Job! その2

**Congratulations, sereneskydragonslayer! As the 100th. reviewer, you have the right to have me write an omake of your choosing! It will be featured in the chapter I'm in the midst of writing when you submit the plot, so get to thinking. Also, I will not be writing anything of relation to the cliched bullshit that's taken over the archives unless its satirical. With that in mind, come up with something soon, okay? Good. Now... chapter time! **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Last time, on _FTR, _Natsu, along with Cana and Meredy, finally embarked on an official S-Class Job. It seemed thrilling, at first, but they then learned that the clients were members of Sen'ya Ichiya, the government's elite group of covert mages, making the whole thing seem like a chore.

After getting rid of an army of skeletons, the six of them found themselves in a cabin where they would discuss their battle plan.

"We believe that 'The Undeadz' will be transporting the White Pixie through this ROUTE," Dlanor said, pointing to a map hung on the wall. "At the end of the route, there is a three-way split, with each path ending up at an extremely dense FOREST. Once they reach said forest, it will be nearly impossible to locate them, and the mission will be LOST."

"Impossible for _you, _maybe," Natsu said under his breath. Dlanor, though, heard this, and threw her short sword inches away from Natsu's left ear.

"Based on the attack from earlier, it can be assumed that they know of our PRESENCE. Fearing a group attack, they'll split themselves into three groups to trick US."

"But we'll be doing the same thing, then?" Cana asked.

"CORRECT. One group shall be Hikaru, Sen, and I, one shall be _Ms._ Cana and _Ms. _Meredy, and _Mr. _Natsu shall be a group on his-"

"HOLD IT!" Natsu interjected. Dlanor turned to Natsu with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a PROBLEM?"

"Why am _I _the only one who's alone on this?!" Dlanor then flashed a cat smile.

"Do you not have confidence in your skills, _Mr. _Natsu?"

"It's not about that! If I run into that skeleton guy, I'm gonna be in trouble, right?!" Meredy shivered at being reminded of the skeletons.

"NO. They're weak against cutting attacks, as shown by our flawless defeat of THEM. You certainly have a cutting attack, so you should stop complaining about the SETUP."

"But you're just singling me out with this!" Dlanor then started to laugh.

"So what if I AM? I was put in charge of this mission, so I can do whatever I want with an insubordinate man like you, can't I?" Rather than give a verbal response, Natsu grabbed Dlanor's arm and threw her into a wall.

"Stop acting like a little brat." Dlanor, obviously miffed, summoned up her longsword, but before she could do anything, Hikaru handed her a lollipop. After staring at it for a brief moment, she made her sword vanish and started licking it.

"...We're done here? Just like that?"

"YES."

"Just 'cause you got candy?"

"I _am_ just a KID."

_So it's not just our guild that's full of nutjobs, eh?_ Meredy thought to herself.

"What'd you go'n do that for, man?!" Sen yelled. "We were about ta see some serious blood, ya know!" Meredy jumped back at this.

"Don't care," Hikaru said. "Since Dlanor's method of division is admittedly unfair, we'll be splitting ourselves up with a different method."

"And that is...?" Cana asked.

"Amidakuji."

"...Seriously?"

"It's a common practice within Sen'ya Ichiya."

"Whatever!" Natsu said. "I'm fine, so long as I don't end up with-"

* * *

"Dammit!" This is what Natsu said after the amidakuji paired him up with none other with Dlanor A. Knox. Meredy was with Sen, who was in the midst of telling her something gruesome, and Cana was with Hikaru Steal.

"Hey," Cana said to the leopard-man as they hid. "That amidakuji was rigged, wasn't it?" Hikaru simply nodded. "Why?"

"It's fun messing with people," he said with a wry smile.

"I think we're gonna get along," Cana said with a smirk. Suddenly, they heard a noise and looked towards the path. There, they saw a tall man wearing a suit and pushed back blonde hair carrying a briefcase. "Is that one of 'The Undeadz?'"

"Yes. I can feel malice exuding from his body. That briefcase must also hold the White Pixie."

"Well..." Cana jumped out of her hiding spot, "no point in just standing around, right?!" Cana threw cards at the man, but as soon as he turned towards Cana, he vanished in a blur. "?!"

"My, my..." Cana did an about-face and saw the man behind her, throwing the briefcase to the side, "pretty bold, aren't you?" The thief then threw a super fast punch at Cana, but Hikaru managed to get between them with incredible speed of his own and block with his chest. "This guy, too?"

"Come, petty thief," Hikaru said with a devilish smile, "I'll show you the dangers of my jungle."

* * *

"And that's the story of the first time I was allowed to perform a vivisection," Sen said while he and Meredy were in hiding on their path. Meredy, however, was busy vomiting into the bushes. "Squeamish, ain't ya?"

"What girl... no, what living creature wouldn't vomit after a story like that, you idiot?!" Meredy yelled.

"Hey! Words hurt, you know, Ms. Robot Legs!"

"! …"

"Not nice, now is it?"

"...How did you..."

"What part of 'elite group of covert mages' was unclear? Not that I care, though, just brought it up to prove a point, is all." After a few seconds of silence, the next sound that was heard was a snowball colliding with Sen's face.

"..."

"..." Rather than yell, as Meredy thought would happen, Sen instead started to laugh. Then, for no real reason, Meredy started to laugh, as well. "You're not bad, kid! Your friends must think you're a riot!"

"Yeah... a riot..."

"You don't have friends, do you?"

"I have friends! Erza and... Erza's my friend."

"Sounded like someone else was gonna be mentioned."

"...I don't even get it, though. She's always grabbing me, randomly talking about weird stuff like circles and point cards, trying to be nearly everywhere I go... when did we become friends? When did I become friends... with any of them?"

"...Aren't you guild people friends with each other as soon as ya get those blazons? And that girl... doesn't she act like that so you can realize it...?"

"..." _Is that it? Is that what you're doing, Wendy? _Before Meredy could think more of it, a giant skeleton came out of the ground and grabbed Meredy; if she didn't faint from the sheer sight of it, she would probably be screaming.

"Well well well..." suddenly, blood started dripping out of the scars on Sen's arms and manifested into blades that floated in the air, "how's _this_ for exciting?"

* * *

Over with Natsu and Dlanor, there was a very awkward silence formed from a combination of the seriousness of their task and the fighting the two of them did earlier. Surprisingly, though, the young girl was the first to break the silence by saying, "_Mr. _Natsu."

"What?" Natsu asked.

"I'm SORRY."

"Huh?"

"My actions from earlier were disrespectful and RUDE. I let my authority affect my behavior, and that was immature of ME."

"...Well... you are just a kid." The usage of Dlanor's previous phrase made her smile a bit. "But still, realizing your mistakes and owning up to them is pretty grown up."

"Thank YOU."

"I'm sure you'll be a fine adult."

"...NO. Adulthood is a privilege... that I am barred FROM..."

"? What do you-" Before Natsu could finish, Dlanor suddenly pushed him to the side, summoned up her longsword, and cut an apparently flying boulder in two.

"We have COMPANY." Natsu turned to see a large, hairy man wearing a suit that seemed a little small and carrying a large, wooden box on his shoulders.

"Soooo, we gotta deal with you guys again, eh?!" The man asked as he threw the box to the ground. "What a pain!"

"The only pain here is the one you're about to feel, pal!" Natsu shouted as he ignited his fists. "I'm fired up, Dlanor, how about you?" The diminutive mage gave a raised eyebrow and cat smile.

"I'm always overzealous; I am a kid, after ALL," she said.

"Let's do this, then!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	54. Natsu's First S-Class Job! その3

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

As Cana and Hikaru battled their opponent, the outcome being their victory was soon very apparent. The thief, whose name, through villainous banter, was discovered to be "Lecca", only had super speed and martial arts in his arsenal, was at a clear disadvantage against the two of them.

_This is bad! _Lecca thought. _At this rate-_

"Ōren(Yellow Lotus)," Hikaru said from behind, moving his index finger at an extremely high speed by use of his Rokushiki(Six Styles) magic, leaving multiple wounds in his back and sent him flying. "Finish up here for me, Cana."

"Yeah!" Cana shouted. She then pulled out two copies of the tarot card "The Emperor" and stacked them atop each other on the ground. "Come out! Hope!" From the pile of cards, a giant swordsman in white armor appeared and slashed Lecca, knocking him to the ground and knocking him out, as well. "Take that, punk!"

"You shouldn't be so excited about this victory."

"Why?"

"Because..." Hikaru displayed the briefcase Lecca was holding, which was empty, "this guy didn't have the White Pixie."

"Dammit!"

* * *

With Sen and the unconscious Meredy, the fighting had reached a sort of stalemate as Sen's magic wasn't strong enough to do heavy damage and the skeleton wasn't fast enough to hit Sen a lot.

"This guy's really pissin' me off," Sen said. "Time to take 'Blood Knight' up a notch!" Blood then started dripping out of the scars on Sen's legs in a large quantity. When a large puddle formed around his feet, a giant hand shot out from the puddle and grabbed the skeleton by its skull. "Rosie Red." The giant blood hand crushed the skull in an instant and then proceeded to destroy the rest of the skeleton in a flurry of punches. The blood hand then grabbed the falling, unconscious Meredy and placed her on the snowy ground before disappearing.

"Hey, kid, wake up." Meredy just lay there. "Come on, wake up!" Meredy then started grumbling a little. "?"

"...Stop being so timid. With the way you act, _you _should be the seme between us..." Meredy muttered.

"OH?! So you want to be the uke, _eh~?!_" Meredy's eyes then opened at light speed upon her hearing Sen's statement, followed by her jumping to her feet in an embarrassed manner.

"S-S-S-Sen! What did you...?! Why did you...?!"

"When you were talking about your friends, did you happen to leave one out? One that comes with... 'benefits'?" He asked with a wry grin.

"What?! No, I... Wendy and I aren't like that!"

"So it's the annoying girl that you dreamed about! I never specified a gender! UYOHYOHOHOHO!" Meredy, her face redder than all of the blood scattered across the area, threw a snowball at Sen's stomach, knocking him to the ground.

"Ah! I'm sorry! But why did that..."

"My magic, 'Blood Knight', allows me to manipulate my blood for combat... but it doesn't exactly go back inside of me."

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah... I'll just eat some cookies, drink some orange juice, and I'll be fine."

_I don't think it really works like that... _"But still..." Meredy materialized several magic blades, "I'm still angry about you mentioning that erotic dream I totally didn't have!"

"What?"

"I need catharsis!" At that moment, a man dressed in black spandex and wearing a white skeleton mask jumped out of the ground.

"AHAHAHAHA!" The man laughed. "Good work destroying my skeletons, but now I, 'Lord Femur', shall dispose of you two, myself!"

"...This'll work." Meredy then got her catharsis by thoroughly skewering the man with her magic blades.

* * *

Over with Natsu, the battle against the member of "The Undeadz", who was eventually named "Shukyō", was surprisingly even. This man's magic gave him super strength and allowed him to harden his flesh, making it hard for significant damage to be dealt. ...At least, that's what it _seemed _like. Actually, Natsu could've defeated the man a while ago, not even needing Dragon Force. The reason this hadn't happened yet, though, was because Natsu was holding back to examine the skills of his current partner, Dlanor A. Knox.

Dlanor's magic originally seemed like simple sword magic, but as the fight went on, Natsu learned that it was much more than that. Her longsword, the Red Key of Judgement, and her short sword, the Blue Key of Reflection, were powerful blades that damaged a person's mind when they cut, making them similar to Meredy's "Maguilty=Sense". However, this was merely an optional function; when the Keys acted as regular swords, combined with Dlanor's swordsmanship, they were incredibly powerful, especially the Red Key of Judgement, which had the ability to be unblockable.

"Karyū no Hōkō!" Natsu shouted, blasting Shukyō with fire. He, however, managed to harden his flesh and lessen the damage.

"It'll take more than that to beat me!" Shukyō yelled.

"Is this good enough, THEN?" Dlanor asked from behind with her signature smile as she rammed her Red Key of Judgement through his abdomen.

"GAH!"

"DIE THE DEATH! SENTENCE TO DEATH!" The girl then used all of her strength to lift Shukyō up and toss him into the air, where she soon jumped into to deliver a multitude of slashes with her keys before running her Red Key through his stomach and impaling him on the ground. "GREAT EQUALIZER IS THE DEATH!"

"...Damn," Natsu said. Dlanor then regained her composure, pulled out her longsword, and directed its tip at the fallen man's neck. "What are you doing?"

"Finishing HIM."

"Huh? We already won, though."

"AND?"

"There's no reason to kill him."

"...This is how my job WORKS." Natsu then fired a fireball that hit Dlanor's hand and knocked the Red Key right out of it.

"Let's call today an exception."

"..." Dlanor seemed like she wanted to say something, but rather than do so, she simply disengaged her swords. "_Mr. _Natsu."

"?"

"No one has ever stopped me from finishing off a target BEFORE. For you to do so... it's... ODD."

"Is it...?"

"...If we see each other again, I would like to talk to you, privately, if that's alright with YOU."

_? Is this some roundabout way of her saying that she wants to be friends? ...Heh. _"That's fine with me!" Dlanor gave a small nod in response.

* * *

Later, the group of six reunited on Natsu and Dlanor's path, each with a defeated opponent. There, they shared that Cana and Hikaru's opponent was merely carrying an empty briefcase, and the person Meredy barely left alive didn't even have anything. So, by process of elimination, the White Pixie had to be in Shukyō's box.

"Guess this thing's pretty big, then," Natsu said.

"Maybe," Hikaru said. "To be honest, none of us have ever actually actually seen it before."

"Well, we're 'bout to, right now!" Sen shouted while downing a carton of orange juice. He then used his magic to form a bloody crowbar and pry open the lid. As soon as it was off, out jumped the White Pixie, revealing its form for the first time. ...It wasn't what they expected.

It was small... and it was white... but everything else was just plain weird. Its body was rectangular, and it had a big nose, big circular head, and antenna with a red sphere at the tip.

"Thanks for rescuing me!" The White Pixie said. "I'm so sorry for getting caught like that. That's the last time I'm using the bathroom at WcDonalds, I'll tell you what! Tootles!" The White Pixie then jumped into the air and flew away.

"...What," is what everyone's faces said.

* * *

**Fox: And so ends Natsu's first S-Class Job... I guess.**

**Pie: For those of you who don't know what the hell that was, it was the little thing that sometimes shows up in **_**Fairy Tail **_**and **_**Rave Master. **_**If you want to see what it really looks like, go to the last page of chapter 143 of **_**Rave Master.**_

**Fox: Next chapter's the Valentine's Day special, and after that, we're starting the Infinity Clock arc.**

**Pie: Since you're bringing up something related to romance, I gotta ask something.**

**Fox: What?**

**Pie: After reading this chapter... is Meredy gay?**

**Fox: The correct term is lesbian.**

**Pie: Well, is she a lesbian, then?**

**Fox: ...Probably.**

**Pie: What do you mean, "pro-"**

**Fox: To close this chapter off! We've got a special, canonical omake, as requested by our 100th. reviewer, sereneskydragonslayer!**

**Pie: ...What's it about?**

**Fox: It's... a Halloween one.**

**Pie: ...But it's May...**

**Fox: Yeah... I don't get it, either, but it's her call, so... just read it! The title is... "Go for it, Jiggle Butt Gang!" **

* * *

Atop a train in the middle of a fall afternoon, three men in black spandex with very large butts stood with "malicious" intent.

"Are the explosives all set, Lackey A?" One of the men asked.

"Hohoho," Lackey A laughed. "Wired and ready, Boss."

"Hahahahaha," the other man, who must be "Lackey B", chuckled. "We're going to be rich! We're totally holding this train for ransom! Get ready to pay up or blow up!"

"Any minute now, we'll be at our target! Everybody in their places!"

"Bah!" The Boss scoffed. "You can't rush these things! We'll get there when we get there. You must use patience! Patience, my boy! In due time, the people of this time shall remember the wrath of the Jiggle Butt Gang!" Please allow for an explanation. The Jiggle Butt Gang is a band of "thieves" from the 0060s. In 0068, they were accidentally sucked into a wormhole that threw them over 700 years into the future. Not allowing it to get the best of them, they have decided to take advantage of the situation and wreak "havoc" on the future. Now, back to the story.

"If it were up to you, we'd be waiting around 'til the next train!"

"Bah! Planning pays off! You'll see! You rush and you get careless. And being careless is how capers like this get all jammed up! I've planned far too long for our 'Plant a bomb and scare a big wad of cash out of the train conductor' plan to be flushed down the pooper."

"I hear ya! We'll do our evildoing best!" The Lackeys shouted in unison.

"If you can hear me, then calm down! Or maybe 19 push-ups will chill you out!"

"Wha-?! Push-ups? Now?" Lackey B asked.

"No backtalk, mister! Or do you want me to make it 31 push-ups?!"

"What's with all the odd numbers, sir?"

"Alright, Plue!" A voice shouted. "We made it to the roof! That stale cabin air was killing me!" The Jiggle Butt Gang turned to see a blonde girl dressed as Haruhi on the roof of the train with an odd animal beside her. Unbeknownst to them, this girl, along with two of their friends, was on her way to a Halloween party in the town of the next station. "Oh? There's other people here." The girl and the animal started walking towards them.

"She's coming this way!" Lackey A whispered. "Whadda we do, Boss?"

"C'mon guys... we're professionals! keep cool!" The Boss whispered back. "Chilly, even! Now, nonchalantly... just disarm the bomb." Before such a thing could happen, though, the animal sat on top of it.

BEEP

"OH MY GOD! Did you hear a 'BEEP'?! I think I heard a 'BEEP'! Ohmamohmanohman!"

"Take a deep breath, Boss... remember, we play it like ice," Lackey B said.

"My name's Lucy, and this is Plue," the girl said. "Nice to meet you."

"Puun," Plue said.

"Whatever! I got it!" The Boss exclaimed. "Just... just don't move, Plue!

"Hidey-ho! C'mon, my peoples! Huddle up!" The Jiggle Butt Gang then gathered to talk about what should be done. "Alright, boys, show me what you've got by getting that thing off of there and shutting off that bomb."

"W-We can't do it!" Lackey B said.

"What?!"

"See, the trigger, it's pressure sensitive! If the weight is removed, the bomb'll go off."

"Yah, Boss," Lackey A said. "if that li'l snowman moves, we all go kaboom!'

_No! _The Boss thought to himself. _I won't let my perfect plan be ruined by that... that... what the heck _is _that thing, anyway?! It's kinda adorable... it warms even my black heart..._

"What are you guys doing out here, anyway?" Lucy asked.

"Huh?" The Boss turned to his Lackeys. "I'll take care of the kid. You two make sure that thing doesn't move." The Boss then walked over to Lucy. "Hey... Lucy, right? so, kid... where are your parents?"

"Huh? ...My mom died when I was a kid... and my dad and I don't really talk much, anymore."

"! So sorry. I didn't mean to pry." The Boss then started to cry. _Keep it together! You can't cry! You're a black-hearted scoundrel! _"Kid... it sounds like you've had a hard life. I know that feel."

"No, it's fine. It sounds sad, but I got a lot of friends to be there for me."

"Kid... you think you got time to hear my sad tale? I was bouncing through the west..."

"Oh man... looks like the Boss is going through his sob story again," Lackey A said while examining Plue.

"Doesn't he know how serious this is?" Lackey B asked. "How are we gonna move this thing, anyway? Can we get something that ways about the same and put it in the freak's place?"

"That's a terrible idea! The movement would set it off! We should just hightail it outta here!"

"Dude... we're on a train."

"..." Before anything else could be said, the two of them heard very loud crying.

"Man, what a great girl!" The Boss said to the crying Lucy. "Crying for someone you don't even know!"

"That's the saddest story I've ever heard!" Lucy cried.

"I'll live."

"That's right, just keep on truckin'! Now... I think Plue and I should get back to our friends."

"What?! No! I, uh... need to tell _Plue_ my story!" The Boss ran over to Plue and his cohorts. "So what's the verdict? Can we fix it?"

"Afraid not, Boss," Lackey B said.

"...Hey, Lucy!"

"Yeah?"

"Let's play hide-and-seek!"

"I don't really want to play-"

"It'll be fun! Just shut your eyes and count to 100! Don't move until you're done, either!"

"Okay... I guess a quick game's fine..."

"You, too, Plue." The Boss then took out some root beer and handed it to Plue. "Just stay there and drink this like a good doggy."

"Puun!" Lucy then started counting while Plue drank root beer.

"Heh heh heh. Alright, men! We stick up the conductor, grab the cash, and jump into the ocean, got it?!"

"Got it!" The Lackeys shouted in unison. The three men then jumped into the train to begin their looting. As they ran through the train, the Boss kicked a door and knocked a person to the ground. "So what?! We're not boy scouts! We're a gang!"

"Ouch..." The man said. The man in question was actually Gray, dressed as Kouen Ren from _Magi. _He then got up and started cracking his knuckles with a scary look. "That hurt, you jerk." After some offscreen ass-whooping, the Jiggle Butt Gang somehow managed to escape Gray's wrath... in that specific place, since Gray was chasing them.

"C'mon! We'll find a passenger compartment to storm! It'll give us someone to rob _and _somewhere to hide!" The Boss proceeded to open the first door they came across... and walked in on a half-naked Erza, preparing to dress herself as Milly from _Code Geass_.

"Why, you... PERVERTS!" Erza requipped her Heaven's Wheel armor and bombarded them with swords until they started running.

"That's it! The plan's off! Let's get outta here before the bomb goes off! How much time left, Lackey A?!"

"Ten seconds, Boss!" He responded. The three of them proceeded to jump out a window into the ocean below to avoid the explosion. When the approximate time for this arrived, though... there was no explosion. They didn't know it, but all of the root beer caused Plue to pee on the bomb and diffuse it.

"What do we do now, Boss?" One of the Lackeys asked.

"The breast stroke! Get set to get wet, boys!"

"Right behind you, Boss!" The Lackeys shouted in unison. The Jiggle Butt Gang then started swimming towards the sun to perform more "dastardly deeds" across the world. God speed, men. God speed.

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	55. Valentine's Fanservice

**Fox: So here's something incredible I learned the other day. In the English dub of the **_**K-On! **_**movie, one of the characters is voiced by Littlekuriboh! That's so great! I hope one of the extras is an abridged version of the movie, 'cause that'd be super special awesome! Anyway, time for this.**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Deep in the Land of Isvan is a large building shaped like a crescent moon; this building is the Bureau of Magical Development. In one of its many laboratories, its Chairman, Fuyu Navidades, a lab coat draped over her usual outfit, is hard at work on an experiment of some sorts.

"Aaaaaaaand... done!" She exclaimed aloud. "After hours upon hours of research, this genius has completed her greatest creation to date!" Then, triumphantly, she held up her brown, heart-shaped creation in the air. "Natsu-kun's Valentine's Day chocolate!" Yep. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day for the citizens of Fiore, and Fuyu had just finished making the chocolate she planned to give to her beloved Natsu Dragneel. "Do you think he'll like it, Blitzen?" The person she was referring to was the only other person in the room, her assistant, Blitzen von Vunterbok. He wore a green suit and had short, blonde hair, but his most noticeable features were a sort of metallic monocle around his right eye and a mechanical right hand.

"Of couuuuuuurse!" Blitzen yelled. "There's no way he wouldn't love it! My superior's creations are the best in the wooooooorld!"

"Yeah... I hope he thinks so, too..." _Natsu-kun..._

"By the way, shouldn't you get back to work on that device that will help you locate the Dragons?"

"! I'll do it later!"

"But it seems rather important."

"Blitzen, which is more important, things that affect Earth Land as a whole, or the relationship statuses of Natsu-kun and his friends?!"

"Obviously the first oooooooooone!"

"I agree, but most people don't, so we're gonna focus on romance for a bit!"

* * *

It was now early afternoon of Valentine's Day. The girls were preparing chocolate for their sweethearts, and the guys were awaiting those chocolates and a chance to get laid. Speaking of girls preparing chocolates, a certain blonde-haired member of Fairy Tail was eyeing her oven with impatience over the slow pace of her sugary creation's cooking speed.

"This is taking too long," Lucy said. "The recipe says to cook it at 177 degrees Celsius for twenty minutes... so if I set to 1770 degrees Celsius, it'll be done in two minutes!" ...It's safe to say that her oven caught on fire. Luckily, Lisanna was walking the halls of Fairy Hills with a fire extinguisher and put it out before things got bad.

"That should take care of that!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks... why do you have that fire extinguisher, anyway?"

"Every year, there's always someone who stupidly does what you do. Usually, it's my sister, but I guess not this-" At that moment, cries of another fire broke out. "Spoke too soon." After putting out the fire in Mira's room, Lisanna returned to Lucy's.

"What am I gonna do, Lisanna? All of my chocolate is ruined, and I spent hours on it! If I start over now, it'll be too late to give them out!"

"Don't worry, Lucy! If I help you out, you should be able to finish in time!"

"? You wanna help?"

"Yeah, why not? I was just gonna buy stuff from the store, so I got time."

"...You do know that some of the chocolate... is for... Natsu... right?"

"So?"

"?" Lucy was surprised to hear such a response from Lisanna. "'So'? Correct me if I'm wrong, Lisanna, but from what I've heard, you and Natsu were really... 'close' when you were younger, if you know what I mean."

"Is that what you heard?" Lucy nodded her head. "Okay, I'll admit that I had a crush on Natsu when I was younger, and he probably had a crush on me, but that's all it was, a crush. Neither of us took it any further than that, so it just more or less vanished. Plus, I've been gone from this dimension for two years! That'd be a long time to hold onto a little crush, wouldn't it?"

"Now that you mention it..."

"Also, even if I _did _still like Natsu, what would you expect me to do, act like a total bitch and get everyone to hate you, and possibly beat you up, causing you to leave the guild and train for seven years with the one dragon that just happened to not vanish and Mary Sue the crap outta everyone?!"

"That's a pretty detailed hypothetical..." Lucy said with a sweat drop. "But that sounds awful! And by awful, I don't just mean it'd be awful to go through that, I also mean it'd be awful for anything resembling that to even be thought of!"

"And what would be even worse would be people liking it! ...Regardless! I'm rooting for you, Lucy, and I'm gonna help you out as much as I can!"

"Lisanna..."

"After all, a NaLu romance makes for great doujinshi!"

"...What?"

* * *

At the train station for the town of Mesquite, the one o'clock had just gotten in, and a blue-haired girl was being dragged out of the train through a pile of vomit by a cat.

"Why are you the only Dragon Slayer who vomits like this due to transportation?" Carla asked.

"How should I know?" Wendy asked in response, getting up and wiping off some vomit. "I hate that Troia counts as healing! I can't use it on myself, so I have to walk everywhere!"

"Oh, well..."

"On the plus side, though, all of that walking will be great for my buns and thighs!"

"Yeah, buns and thighs. Wait, no! Don't talk like that in public, Wendy!"

"You're no fun."

"No one said I have to be. Let's just go give out your chocolate to those two and go home."

"Okay!" If you hadn't figured it out, Wendy and Carla were there so Wendy could deliver chocolate to Sting and Rogue, the Dragon Slayers closest in age to her.

* * *

After a bit of walking, the two had arrived at the boys' house that they first saw when they first met, and Wendy knocked on the door.

"By the way, Carla, what did you give Happy for Valentine's Day?" Wendy asked.

"Just some 10 Jewel chocolate," Carla said.

_A tsundere cliche..._ Wendy thought with a slight nosebleed. It was then that the door flew off its hinges with Sting and Rogue wrestling on top of it.

"_I'm _opening the door for Wendy!" Rogue yelled.

"No, I am!" Sting yelled.

"Um, guys..." Wendy started.

"Not now, Wendy!" The Twin Dragons yelled, Sting adding a "-chan". After a few seconds, they stopped wrestling and got up on their feet.

"Oh, Wendy-chan! What a pleasure it is to see you!" Sting said.

"If you're wondering about the door, we were just... remodeling!" Rogue said.

"With your bodies?" Wendy asked.

"It's the manly way to do it!"

"...Alright." Wendy then noticed what looked like a guild's blazon on Rogue's left shoulder. "You joined a guild?"

"Oh, right, we didn't tell you."

"Me, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch are all now official members of the Sabertooth guild!" Sting exclaimed.

"'Sabertooth'?" Carla asked.

"Isn't that that guild run by the Wizard Saint Jiemma?" Wendy asked, the two boys nodding their heads in response. "That's kind of a weak guild, isn't it? Why'd you join it?"

"Because their master is really cool!" The two said in unison, remembering what they saw in the movie version of the events that took place on Tenrou Island.

"Right... well, let's go inside!" Following Wendy's advice, the four of them walked into the house where Lector and Frosch were sitting around.

"Are you guys done fighting over Wendy?" Frosch asked.

"What?!" Wendy asked with blush.

"We weren't fighting over Wendy! Why would we?!" Sting and Rogue exclaimed in unison.

"I'm... not worth fighting for...?" Deciding to mess with her friends, Wendy began to fake cry.

"No, we didn't mean that!"

"Okay!"

"Humans and their mating rituals..." Lector whispered.

"Fro thinks so, too," Frosch whispered back.

"Now, for the reason I came here..." Wendy then put her hands in her pockets and pulled out two bars of chocolate wrapped in plastic. "Ta-da! Sting-kun and Rogue-kun's handmade Valentine's Day chocolate!"

"Yay! Thank you so much!" The Dragon Slayers said in unison, taking the chocolate from Wendy. While this happened, Carla had a nervous look on her face for some reason.

"Where's _my _chocolate?" Lector asked. Carla threw a Hershey Kiss at him. "Thank you!"

"What about Fro?" Frosch asked.

"Oh... right..." _Frosch is a boy? _Carla asked herself. _This whole time I thought Frosch was a girl... _"Sorry, Frosch. But you must've gotten chocolate from other people, right?"

"? Why would Fro get chocolate?"

"Huh?" _Frosch wouldn't get chocolate today? I guess Frosch _is _a girl... _"Did you _give _chocolate then?"

"Why would Fro _give _chocolate?"

_What?! _"Alright, Frosch, are you a boy or a girl?!"

"Fro... is Fro."

"What is that supposed to-" Before Carla could finish, she and the other Exceeds heard gagging coming from across the room. This told Carla one thing: Sting and Rogue had tasted Wendy's chocolate.

To Carla, Wendy only had two noteworthy flaws: one was that she was an annoying Otaku who constantly had nosebleeds due to references made to anime and manga, and the other was that she was a horrible cook(which, ironically, fit into the first "flaw"). Everything Wendy tried to make tasted awful, and Carla, as the only person who ever ate her food, never had the heart to say so. Of course, the people of Cait Shelter also ate Wendy's cooking, but they never seemed to mind... probably because they were ghosts and couldn't actually eat.

_What the hell is this?! _Sting thought.

_It's like there's a party in my mouth... and everyone's taking a shit on the floor! _Rogue thought. Despite hating the chocolate, they knew that if they wanted Wendy to keep liking them, they would have to lie. So, after managing to force it all down, they both put on the biggest diabetes-inducing smiles ever and said, "Delicious!"

"Yay!" Wendy cheered. Then, to the boys' dismay(and the cats' amusement), she pulled out two more chocolate bars. "Try these ones, now!" Before they(grudgingly) took the chocolate, a colorful ball of energy appeared that soon vanished and, in its place, left a little girl with long, black hair wearing a blue cheongsam and a good deal of makeup.

"Ojou-sama?!"

"Who is that?" Carla asked.

"Jiemma's daughter, Minerva," Lector said. "What's she doing here, though?"

"I got backeth early from my Job, so I decided to payeth ye a visit," Minerva said, in very old language, for whatever reason. She then turned her attention towards Wendy. "Might that beeth chocolate?" Wendy, a little confused, nodded her head. "May I beseech ye to bequeath upon me some?"

"Um... yes?" Wendy responded. "Oh, actually, this is Sting-kun and Rogue-kun's, so you should ask them before you-"

"It's alright," the boys deadpanned. Wendy shrugged her shoulders and gave one to Minerva. After she took a bite, though, she immediately spit it out.

"Dost thou haveth an illness in thy brain?!" Minerva exclaimed. "This confection dost haveth the flavor of a simian's morning excretion!"

"...Huh?" Wendy and the others asked, tilting their heads as if they were characters in a Shaft anime.

"It tastes like shit!"

"Ahhhh... wait, what?!" The last part was said by all of the others, sans Lector and Frosch. Carla started yelling at Minerva, and Sting and Rogue looked ready to pounce, but they all stopped when Wendy yelled, "Stop it"!

"...Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so we need to respect Minerva's..." Even though Wendy said this and spoke rather calmly, her face looked rather angry. "But still, Minerva, I'm sure you didn't _mean _to be so rude..."

"Thou art correct," Minerva said. "Twas rude of me to insult... the shit."

_Oh no she didn't! _Frosch thought.

_Don't let her get to you. Don't let her get to you. _Wendy thought to herself. _! I know how I can salvage this! _"Minerva, do you watch any anime?"

"Yes, actually."

_Good! Anime is the gateway to all friendships!_

"I'm quite fond of _Avatar: The Last Airbender. _What about thou?" At that moment, something snapped inside the little Otaku's head.

"_Avatar..._" Wendy walked right in front of Minerva and grabbed her arms, "isn't..."

"What art thou-"

"ANIMEEEEEEEEEEE~!" Wendy then lifted Minerva up over her head and threw her through the nearest window.

"Wendy, what did you just do?!" Carla yelled.

"I thought that we could at least be vitriolic best buds, but she crossed the line! No one calls _Avatar _anime and gets away with it!"

"But didn't you once say it might as well be an anime?!"

"I know the difference! I'm allowed to make a joke like that!" At that moment, Wendy found herself teleported outside, courtesy of Minerva's magic, and was met with a powerful slap. Wendy, not allowing the girl to get the best of her, slapped her back.

"If it beeth a fight thou wanteth, cometh now!" Minerva exclaimed. "I shalt sendeth thou back from whence thy came! Zounds!"

"Bring it, bitch!" Normally, they would use magic to fight, but for whatever reason, they decided to just tackle one another and wrestle on the ground.

"We have to do something!" Carla said.

"NO!" The other four yelled.

"What?! Wendy could get hurt, you know!"

"That's true..." Lector said.

"But as men..." Rogue said.

"There's no way in hell..." Sting said.

"That we'll get in the way of a catfight!" All three exclaimed.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch cheered, making the green cat's gender more ambiguous.

_I'm surrounded by idiots... _Carla thought with a facepalm. Just then, a large splash was heard. Carla and the others turned to see that Wendy and Minerva had landed in a pile of mud.

"YEAH!" Everyone except Carla exclaimed. Then, the two girls temporarily stopped fighting to discard their muddy clothing, thus putting them in their underwear. "YEAH!" Then, despite not having to, they continued wrestling in the mud. "YEAH!" Carla could only facepalm to this.

* * *

Back in Magnolia Town, Erza and Jellal were preparing to spend their Valentine's Day at home and exploring just how kinky they could make their sex. Erza was currently going over a checklist of everything they were using.

"Seduction Armor, check," she said, eyeing her outfit. "Male thong, check," she said, eyeing Jellal's outfit. "Leather pants and shoes, check. Licorice whips, check. Cool whip, check. Actual whip, check. Chewing gum, check. Complete soundtrack to _K-On!, _check. Donkey..." The donkey that was apparently in the room neighed, "check."

"Do we have everything?" Jellal asked.

"Yep. Now, then..." Erza pushed Jellal onto the bed and put one end of a licorice whip in her mouth, Jellal grabbing the other with his mouth. As they both slowly chewed, Jellal turned on the _K-On! _soundtrack and took a handful of cool whip, slowly moving it towards his-

RING RING RING

"Dammit all!" Jellal wiped off the cool whip and answered his Mini Communications Lacrima, making sure to turn off the visual function so the other person wouldn't see their den of sin. "Hello? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I see. Good-bye." He hung up the Lacrima and put on a pair of pants.

"What are you doing?"

"I gotta go to Mesquite. Wendy got in a fight with some girl from Sabertooth that ended up destroying their town hall, and now she's in holding."

"Can't you get her tomorrow?!"

"It's the weekend. If I don't get her today, she'll be sent to real jail, and then she won't get out until Monday."

"It's just a weekend."

"It only takes one night to get anally raped!"

"But we only have the donkey for an hour! All of this stuff is pointless without the donkey!" The donkey neighed as if it was saying, "Yeah!" "Wait... what if we..."

"We're not having sex on the train, Erza. The Magic Council made it very clear that _we'll _be arrested if we're caught a fourth time. When I get back, we'll just have regular sex."

"Boo!"

* * *

A few hours later, Jellal returned to Magnolia with Carla and a Wendy whose hair was a mess, was covered in mud, scratch marks, bite marks, and was wearing a large jacket of Jellal's over her body on account of not being able to find her own clothes and not wanting everyone to see her in her underwear.

"You just _had _to do it, didn't you?" Carla asked as Jellal walked them back to Fairy Hills.

"Shut up, Carla," Wendy said.

"I'm going to side with Carla's annoyance, here," Jellal said.

"You, too, Jellal! You're just upset that I messed up yours and Erza's kinky sex!"

"...I don't have to justify myself here. You got arrested over something utterly ridiculous."

"It was not ridiculous! _Avatar _is animesque, not anime!"

"Who cares?!" Wendy pouted at this. As she did, they had gotten to Fairy Hills where Wendy saw Meredy reading a book outside, looking at Wendy with a confused face.

"Meredy-chan! You understand that _Avatar _isn't anime, right?!"

"...Yes?" Meredy uttered, not sure what was happening. Wendy then ran up to Meredy and hugged her, the jacket falling off mid-sprint.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Normally, Meredy would have shooed Wendy away. But, for _some _reason, she instead hugged her back.

_...Today is a good day... _Meredy thought with a smile and some blush, trying to make it not so obvious that she was staring at Wendy's outfit(or, rather, lack of).

* * *

Over at Natsu's house, the master of the building was lying around rather bored. He had gotten chocolate from all of the girls he was on good terms with(all giri chocolate), except for Lucy and Lisanna, for whatever reason, so he had nothing left to do today. He couldn't even play with Happy because the cat was flying all across town showcasing the cheap chocolate Carla bought him. Natsu decided on taking a nap, but discarded the thought when he heard a knock on the door.

_Wonder if that's Lucy... _He thought to himself. He answered the door and, instead of seeing Lucy as he predicted, he saw an extremely out of breath Fuyu. "Fuyu?! What are you doing here?! And why are you breathing so hard?!"

"This genius... was coming over... by train..." Fuyu panted, "but the train... broke down... so I had... to run here..."

"Do you want some water?"

"Yes!" Fuyu quickly ran inside and filled Natsu's sink to the top with water. She then chomped down on the water and left a big gap in the middle of the sink.

"Your method of eating never ceases to amaze me..."

"Thank you!" She then went back to eating the water.

"...By the way, Fuyu, you said that we met seven, no, now it's eight, years ago, right? I don't really remember that, so could you tell me about it?" Fuyu stopped eating the water and turned to Natsu.

"...It was the year X777. My foster parent, Yamuraiha, had just... vanished, and this genius was left to fend for herself. I was really scared... I didn't know what to do... but then... I met you.

"Even though we were in the same situation, losing our Dragon parents and such, you weren't moping around like me. All the time you spent playing with me... you did nothing but smile."

"Is that right? I'm sorry I don't remember, but the knowledge that I helped you out is just as good!"

"Yeah. And then, what made me really happy was what you said before you left me."

"What?"

"You said, 'I'll come back for you on a white horse. SEE YOU AGAIN.'(A/N: "SEE YOU AGAIN" is said in English)."

"What?! I said something so embarrassing?!" The two Dragon Slayers then started to laugh at that.

"Well, I need to go, now, Natsu-kun. I wanted to be here all day, but that stupid train made me late, and I really need to get back to work. First, though, here's your chocolate!" Fuyu then handed Natsu a white box that contained a brown, soup-like liquid.

"...It's soup."

"I know... it melted..." Natsu then stuck a finger into the box and licked some of the liquid off of it.

"...This is pretty good!" Fuyu got a big smile on her face.

"Thank you..." Fuyu then walked up to Natsu and kissed him on the cheek, surprising him greatly. _Thank you... _The self-proclaimed genius then walked out of the house as if nothing had happened.

"...Huh."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Natsu and Fuyu, Lucy was there, as well. She had just finished making Natsu's special chocolate and was going to deliver it when she saw Fuyu run up to the door and soon into the house. Curious as to what was happening, she hid in a bush and watched the two of them, not being able to hear, but still able to see everything. She didn't really care much for it until she saw Fuyu kiss Natsu, and that left her completely dumbstruck as Fuyu left the building with a smile.

"Well... so what?" Lucy asked herself. "It's obvious that Fuyu likes Natsu, so it's not weird that she'd do that. And... it's not like I can't still give him my chocolate. I'm gonna do it right now! I'm gonna... gonna..." Unable to go to Natsu after what she saw, she started running back to the guild when she bumped into a familiar face. "Gray?"

"Lucy? What are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"I just... why are _you _here?"

"Wanted to see if Natsu'd be up for a quick spar before dinner. ...Is that chocolate?" Gray asked, seeing the box of chocolate Lucy was holding.

"Yeah... take 'em." Lucy handed Gray the box and started walking away. Gray, not sure what had her so down, opened the box and ate a piece of chocolate, carefully examining the flavor.

_Is this... spice? Why would she..._ Gray immediately figured out who the chocolate was intended for. "Hey, Lucy." Lucy stopped walking. "The chocolate's really good, you know." Lucy turned towards Gray with a small smile and said, "Thanks."

* * *

While this was happening, the mysterious Lambdadelta was staring at her lover, Bernkastel, with a slight look of annoyance.

"What is it, Lambda?" She asked.

"You haven't finished my chocolate yet, Bern!" Lambda cried.

"You can't expect me to eat it all in one sitting; it _is _a lifesize replica of Joseph Stalin."

"Yep. I know how much you love Communist leaders!"

"Yes. ...How are things progressing with the Infinity Clock?"

"Pretty good! Things should get started with that very soon."

"Excellent. I can't wait to play a game with Natsu. I'm _certain_ he'll have a _ton _of fun."

"Hey, _I'm _the Witch of Certainty, not you." The two girls then started to giggle maniacally. "By the way, where's _my _chocolate?"

"I lost it."

"You did?! Where?!" The Witch of Miracles put on a wry grin.

"On my person." Lambdadelta got a wry grin of her own.

"Is that right? That's rather clumsy of you."

"I know. I wonder where it is? All I'm wearing underneath my dress is very thin lingerie, so it can't be there."

"Uh-huh."

"I also know that it's not in my ample cleavage."

"I see."

"And, I know for a fact that it's not..." Bern leaned in real close to whisper to her lover, "'there'."

"Ohohoho. Reeeeeeally?"

"If you don't believe me... why don't you check those places? _All _of them."

"I think I have to. Though, just to be 'certain', I'll probably check other places, too."

"Go right ahead." Then, the two Witches began performing actions too hot and dirty for this audience to read about.

* * *

**Fox: Next chapter starts the Infinity Clock arc, so stay tuned! Also, if you're wondering why Minerva talks like she's from a Shakespearean play, it's because she speaks with very old and formal Japanese, so this is the best English equivalent. With that being said, see you later!**

* * *

******Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	56. The Infinity Clock

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The month was April. Spring had become fully embraced by the people of Fiore. While this was usually a joyous time for people, Fairy Tail's resident fire Dragon Slayer was currently too tired to enjoy it as he lay his head on a large stack of papers in the guildhall.

"What's with _you_, Natsu?" Gray asked him.

"Ugh... tired..." Natsu groaned. "You know how all those churches have been getting bombed or whatever lately? Lahar and Doranbolt asked me to help with the investigation, so they keep sending me tons of reports to go over that take all night to finish..."

"Well that sucks," Happy said.

"Why don't you just take a break? Maybe go on a Job with us?" Lucy asked.

"No breaks," Natsu said. "This is important, and I want to get it done as soon as possible. The last thing I need are intrusive subplots."

"Did somebody say, 'intrusive subplots'?" Natsu and co. turned to see Lucy's father, Jude, and her cousin, Michelle, standing in the doorway with the latter holding a large object wrapped in cloth.

"Oh, son of a bitch!"

* * *

"The 'Infinity Clock'?" Lucy asked after the two guests sat down and began to explain what the object was.

"Yes," Jude said. "It's an ancient device that is able to initiate the Lost Magic, 'Real Nightmare', which has the ability to distort reality and cause chaos. Originally owned by the Zentopia Church, it was dismantled and separated into six pieces when proved to be too dangerous; what we have have here is the clock hand, wrapped in a magic cloth to keep it from being tracked."

"How did you get it, exactly?"

"It's amazing what you can find on Ebay, nowadays!" Michelle exclaimed.

This _is what you're spending your limited funds on, Dad?_

"After we bought it, this man named Jean-Luc Neville told us all about what it really was and made us promise to find a way to permanently seal it. But since we don't know how we could do that, we figured asking mages like you to help would be the best option. So do you think you can?"

"Absolutely!" Natsu said.

"What happened to being too tired for intrusive subplots?" Gray asked.

"This subplot might not be that intrusive. All the churches that got attacked were run by Zentopia, and now a piece of an ancient Zentopia doomsday device suddenly shows up on Craigslist?"

"Ebay," Jude corrected.

"Whatever. The point is that this can't be a coincidence, so going along with this just might work out for me."

* * *

After that, the group of six, along with Levy, whose intellect would be useful, and Gajeel and Lily, who joined in out of boredom, spent the day going to various libraries to find a way to seal the clock hand, but they couldn't find anything, resulting in a depressed walk back to the guild.

"Well that was a lot of pointless reading," Gajeel complained.

"Hey, reading is important!" Levy said. "You should do it more!"

"I don't gotta be a bookworm to do what I do."

"The other Dragon Slayers in this guild do."

"'Salamander' ain't got nuthin' on me," Natsu laughed a little at this(quietly), "...and I don't really count what the other one does as reading. Especially when it's... _that._" The Fairy Tail mages all gained looks of terror as they remembered the time Wendy left some of her hardcore yaoi in the guildhall for everyone to see. After that, Jellal forbid Wendy from bringing anything that... vivid to the guild again.

"What is he talking about, Lucy?" Jude asked, with Michelle having a quizzical look on her face, in addition to that. Before Lucy could form a response, they had all gotten back to the guild where they saw three people who looked just like Hughes, Sugarboy, and Coco, albeit a little different(this "Hughes" was clearly a girl, after all).

"What in the world?" Lily asked aloud. "What are those three-"

"Earth Land versions," Natsu interjected.

"Oh. That makes sense." The other mages nodded in agreement while Jude and Michelle, not understanding what they meant by "versions", were once again confused.

"Excuse me!" Natsu yelled to the three. "Can we help you with something?"

"Oh, hello to you all," Earth Land Coco said. "We are the Magic Police."

"There's no such thing as that." Natsu now looked at them suspiciously.

"We recently came into existence, BABY!" Earth Land Sugarboy said. "We are here to catch evil magic criminals and various other ne'er-do-wells."

"No, you're not." Natsu was now thoroughly convinced that they were full of crap. The others figured this out, too, and made it rather obvious with their faces, but these three had no intention of stopping.

"We are looking for the man who assassinated two emissaries from the Iceberg country," Earth Land Hughes said. "We believe that his name is 'Jude'."

_I never killed anyone!_ Jude thought to himself.

"Please have him come forward so we can reward him for his valiant deed!"

"I thought you wanted to arrest him," Natsu said.

"I CHANGE MY MIND A LOT! ...execute them."

"RIGHT ON! Let's go, BABY!" Earth Land Sugarboy shouted. He then pulled out some sort of microphone and sang into it, causing giant green globs to spawn from his clothing.

"Jell-O!" Michelle shouted as she dropped the clock part ran towards it. As soon as she touched it, though, she was immediately sucked into the substance.

"Oh, boy..." Jude said with a sweat drop.

"Michelle!" Lucy shouted, going for her keys.

_Stop! _Natsu shouted, telepathically. _That stuff absorbs anything that makes physical contact! Also, look at Michelle. _Lucy looked and saw that she looked rather tired, even though she was fine a moment ago. _It looks like it also absorbs the energy of anything that makes contact with it._

_Then how do we fight it?!_

_It looks some sort of emulsion, so freezing it could work. Gray!_

_On it! _Gray said, telepathically. Gray prepared to freeze the ice, but he suddenly found himself turned around and freezing Lucy in a giant block of ice. "Huh?!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha, you attacked your frie~nds!" Earth Land Hughes laughed as she pointed some sort of wand shaped like a hand at Gray.

"Well, this works, too, I guess," Natsu said. He then fired a giant blast of fire and the block of ice that not only thawed Lucy out, but created a giant smokescreen.

"NO WAY!" Earth Land Sugarboy shouted.

"I'll take care of them!" Earth Land Coco said as she ran straight into the smokescreen. A few seconds later, though, she ran back out.

"Why'd you come back?"

"They're gone."

"Well, let's split up and find them!" Earth Land Hughes shouted.

* * *

After creating the smokescreen from melting the ice, Natsu got Michelle out of the goop, Lucy picked up the clock hand, and the group split into three teams: Natsu, Happy, and Gray, Gajeel, Lily, and Levy, and Lucy, Jude, and Michelle. With the first team, they eventually met up with Earth Land Sugarboy.

"So, you guys ready to rumble?" Earth Land Sugarboy asked.

"I'm not so much 'ready to rumble' as I'm 'ready to kick your ass'!" Gray said while taking off his shirt.

"GAH!" Earth Land Sugarboy shouted while clutching his chest. "What is this feeling... in my heart?"

"Stop creeping me out!"

* * *

Over with the second team, as they ran to get away from the mages, Earth Land Coco suddenly cut them off.

"Where is Jude Heartfilia?" Earth Land Coco asked.

"As if we'll tell you!" Levy shouted.

"Fine. I'll just beat the info out of you!"

"Is that right, little doggy?" Gajeel asked as he turned his right arm into a chainsaw. "Let's see what you can do. Geehee!"

_Oh, I am become error. _Earth Land Coco thought.

* * *

"Okay, we should be safe here," Jude said as he, Lucy, and Michelle stopped running.

"Can you remind me why it's safe for us to be right by a cliff?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy, have I _ever_ made an error in judgement?" Lucy opened her mouth to say something. "Don't answer that."

"Regardless, it seems like we got away from them," Michelle said. "After we rest for a bit, we should head back to the guild on a different path-"

"Hi," Earth Land Hughes said, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"Hello, and tell everyone else what..." The group of three sharply turned towards her. "Oh, poopy."

"Mary found ya!" Mary Hughes then took out her wand and pointed it at Michelle, causing her to start walking towards the cliff. Lucy threw the clock hand down and grabbed Michelle to try and make her stop, but she kept walking, now taking Lucy with her.

"Hey!" Lucy shouted. "You still don't know where Jude is! We can still tell you, so wouldn't it be bad for you if we fell from here?!"

"Only if you die!" Mary Hughes then went into a fit of laughter. If she wasn't doing that, though, she probably would have noticed Jude coming up behind her and grabbing her wand, causing Michelle to stop moving. "No!"

"Looks like you can only control one person at a time with this little trinket," Jude said.

"Give me back my Holy Tact!"

"Sure. Just let me do one thing first." Jude took the Holy Tact and slammed it against his knee, causing it to shatter. "Oops."

"AAAGH!"

"Lucy, would you mind teaching this girl some manners?"

"No problem!" Lucy shouted. She then put her hands in the air like she just didn't care and summoned up the Montagne de les astéroïdes which, thanks to four months of training with Capricorn, she could now use without dislocating her shoulders.

"Ah fuck, that's an anti-tank rifle. AH, FUCK! That's an anti-tank rifle!" Mary Hughes shouted.

"Bitches love cannons!" Lucy then pulled the trigger and blasted Mary Hughes with a beam of light, defeating her in an instant.

_Did Lucy just call herself a bitch? _Jude and Michelle thought.

* * *

Over with the first group, at some point during the fight, Gray and Earth Land Sugarboy ended up having their hands stuck together in a ball of his goop.

"I am having the worst case of déjà mustard right now," Natsu said.

"Let go of me before I pound you!" Gray shouted.

"In that case... I will never let go!" Earth Land Sugarboy shouted.

"What's wrong with you?!" Suddenly, a large wind blew through the area that had enough strength to get the goop off of their hands. The mages turned to see that it was Wendy and Meredy, having apparently gotten back from the Job they were totally on with Erza and Jellal.

"Man!" Wendy exclaimed. "Meredy-chan and I _just _got back from our double date with Erza and my surrogate father, and we gotta deal with this?!"

"I'm not happy about it, either," Meredy said. Half a second later, her face became extremely red. "Double date?!"

"Hahahaha! You should see your face, Meredy-chan!" Meredy then gave Wendy a powerful bonk on the head. "You're no fun..." As this happened, a green light suddenly shone in the sky.

"SPICY..." Earth Land Sugarboy said. "Looks like this will have to be put off a bit! GOODBYE!" Earth Land Sugarboy then summoned a large mass of his goop that lifted him high off the ground and carried him away too fast for anyone to do anything.

"Did we win?" Happy asked. Natsu simply shrugged.

_Why's he leaving? _Gray thought. _Wait... has Lucy been..._

* * *

Back with Gajeel's group, the iron Dragon Slayer easily defeated Earth Land Coco and tied her up with iron. At the moment, they were in the middle of interrogating her.

"So, it wasn't Lu-chan's dad you were after, but the clock hand?" Levy asked.

"That's right," Earth Land Coco said. "We had heard that Jude Heartfilia had gotten his hands on it, so the Archbishop told us members of the Legion Corps go and retrieve it. Afterwards, we are to begin assembling the clock in its entirety."

"Why would you do _that_?" Lily asked, knowing the dangerous power of the Infinity Clock.

"We need it to complete our holiest of missions."

"Which is..."

"It is..." Before she could talk, a green light shone in the air, catching the eye of all three Fairy Tail mages. Earth Land Coco, seeing this as a chance to escape, got up on her feet(still tied up) and used her Athletic Magic to hop away at incredible speed.

"Well... that happened," Gajeel said.

* * *

Over in another area, Gildarts, out for an evening stroll, came across the leader of the Legion Corps, Byro Cracy, and began fighting him atop his octopus, Kanaloa, to learn of his true goals. As they fought, Kanaloa was suddenly stabbed by a spear and threw Gildarts off in agony. The Crash user landed on his feet and saw Erza(in her Giant's Armor) and Jellal, having come back from the job they were definitely on.

"This is _not_ what I wanted to deal with after our double date," Erza said.

"I know what you mean," Jellal said. "...Wait, what?!"

"What? Didn't we just do that?"

"We were on a Job that involved stopping three volcanoes from erupting!"

"Sounds like a date to me."

"...Even if it does to _you, _how would it be a double date?!"

"Wendy and Meredy. They're going out, right?"

"Absolutely not! There's no way they would be!"

"...Wow, Jellal. Do you _hear_ how homophobic you sound right now?"

"I'm not homophobic, I just don't think they're an item! If my surrogate daughter wanted to date girls, that'd be fine with me!"

"Good to hear."

"If she wants to date Sting or Rogue, though..."

"And now we have another problem to deal with."

"How about we deal with the _original _problem?!" Gildarts yelled. As he yelled this, a green light appeared in the sky, and Byro Cracy commanded Kanaloa to retreat. "...Pussy."

* * *

A little before the green light appeared, Lucy's group was discussing what to do with Mary Hughes, who was now unconscious and tied to a tree.

"Obviously, we're not gonna leave her here," Lucy said. "We should take her back to the guild and try and get whatever info we can out of her."

"So we're taking her prisoner, essentially?" Jude asked. Lucy nodded in response. As she did, Mary Hughes started to wake up.

"What...?" She asked in a daze before regaining her bearings. "Why am I tied to a tree?!"

"Nee-san beat you good!" Michelle said. "Now you're gonna tell us everything you know!" Mary Hughes hung her head down in defeat. Her Holy Tact was broken, so she had no way to fight. Even if she did, with her being tied up like that... it seemed like a total loss for her. But then, a sort of "miracle" happened, beginning with Lucy saying four simple words: "Hey, look, a cat!" Everyone turned to see a black cat walk onto the scene. Soon after, though, another showed up. And another. And another. And another. And another until there were at least 100 black cats, glaring at the humans with malicious, yellow eyes.

"Wh-Wh-What's going on here?" Lucy asked, shaking a little. The cats then all simultaneously growled and leapt forward. Lucy thought that she, Jude, and Michelle were being attacked, but the cats ran right past them and headed towards the clock hand, several of them picking it up with their teeth.

"The clock hand!" Jude shouted.

"Get away from there!" Lucy reached for keys, but the cats growled at her with such ferocity that she couldn't move. Then, something struck her in the back of the head that caused her to fall. When she looked at what it was, she was surprised, to say the least. "Popcorn?"

"Nee-san, Uncle Jude, look!" Michelle shouted. Lucy and Jude turned to see the cats biting away Mary Hughes' binds and putting her on their backs.

"I don't know what's going on here, but it's amazing!" Mary Hughes shouted. She then took out a green rock and threw it into the air, causing it to explode and release a green light. The cats then carried Mary Hughes and the clock hand off into the distance.

"She got away with the hand..." Jude said.

"How did that happen?" Lucy asked. "We had her where we wanted her, so how did-"

AHAHAHAHA!

"! Did... one of you just laugh?" Jude and Michelle shook their heads. "Then...who..."

AHAHAHAHA!

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	57. Traveling Companions(?)

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Last time, on _FTR_, Jude Heartfilia and Michelle Lobster came to Fairy Tail to ask the guild to help them seal a piece of the Infinity Clock, an ancient magical item that could destroy the entire world(that they acquired via Ebay). While trying to do this, however, the guild was attacked by the Zentopia Church's Legion Corps, and the piece was stolen. Currently, Natsu is relaying this information to Lahar, Doranbolt, and the Chairman via three Communications Lacrima.

"Zentopia, you say?" Lahar asked.

"Yeah," Natsu said. "Gildarts told us that that's who they're working with."

"If that's the case, we in the government might not be very helpful here," Doranbolt said.

"What do you mean?"

"These guys are a religious group, Natsu. The law gives them virtual immunity from the government. Unless we have proof that they want to use the Infinity Clock with malicious intent, we can't do anything."

"But what if there's some sort of connection with the church attacks?!"

"Those were all owned by Zentopia! Are you saying that they would destroy their own churches?!"

"No, but...! I just know they're up to no good! There's gotta be something we can do! Right, Chairman?!" Natsu, Lahar, and Doranbolt awaited a response from the Chairman's Lacrima, but no such thing came. "Chairman?" All three turned to the Chairman's Lacrima to see that he had fallen asleep with a finger up his nose.

"He's picking his nose?!" Lahar yelled.

"While sleeping?!" Doranbolt yelled.

"Wake up, you idiot!" Natsu yelled.

"Shimapan!" was what Absoliutus exclaimed when he awoke. "What'd I miss?"

"Everything! I'm asking you guys for help, and you won't give it to me!"

"Oh, is that all? I'll send you some people."

"? You will?"

"Chairman!" Lahar exclaimed. "We're dealing with a religious group, here! If the public finds out about this-"

"Which is why we'll be sending guys from Sen'ya Ichiya. Duh!"

"'Sen'ya Ichiya'?"

"Of course," Doranbolt said. "If we use Sen'ya Ichiya, we can get involved, and no one will know about it!"

_That Chairman guy sure is useful when it counts,_ Natsu thought.

"Plus, they'll have the authority to kill, so we might be rid of a few useless mages!" The Chairman said with a laugh.

_He's also a confusing pain all of the time..._

* * *

The next day, Natsu and his team, plus his close companions in the guild, and Jude and Michelle, were waiting by the entrance for the members of Sen'ya Ichiya to show up.

"How many people are they sending?" Lucy asked Natsu.

"The Chairman said that they're sending five," was his response.

"Only five?" Jude asked.

"That's not a lot~!" Michelle whined.

"Hey, these guys are pretty tough, you know!" Natsu said. "Just one would probably be good, but they're sending us five!" At that moment, a large Magic Four Wheel Vehicle that could seat five pulled up in front of the guild, its driver being a familiar face to Natsu, Cana, and Meredy. "Dlanor!" The small girl detached the SE-plug and walked down to the ground.

"It is a pleasure to be working with you of Fairy Tail AGAIN," Dlanor said with a slight bow. As she came up, her eyes stopped as they crossed paths with Wendy's. "Are you _Ms._ Wendy?"

"...Yes?" Wendy replied. "Is something the matter?"

"NO. I was just curious as to what kind of person would cause _Ms._ Meredy to have an erotic dre-" Dlanor never finished that sentence as Meredy through a large cookie into her mouth that she started nibbling on.

"What was she saying?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Meredy yelled. The pink-haired girl then grabbed Dlanor's arm and dragged her away from the group.

"Who told you I had a dream like that?!" She yelled in a whisper.

"Sen said you DID," Dlanor responded in a whisper, still eating her cookie.

_That guy..._ "Well... it's not true! I would never, _ever_ have a dream like that! Don't give my friends the wrong idea about me, got it?!"

"...I UNDERSTAND."

"Good."

"You should be allowed to come out on your own TERMS."

"Yes. ...Wait, no!"

"May I have another COOKIE?" Meredy, muttering curse words under her breath, threw another cookie back towards the group, causing Dlanor to run over to it, with Meredy following suit.

"Now, THEN..." Dlanor started, hastily eating the cookie, "allow me to introduce the other four members of Sen'ya Ichiya who shall be accompanying US." Dlanor opened the door on the left side and two people walked out. They were both females, a tall one with long, blonde hair and an average sized one with short, brown hair, and they both wore outfits similar to Dlanor, except their coats stopped at their chests, they wore large, blue, showgirl skirts, and the strings attached to their leotards were white.

"Please allow me to speak," the blonde said. "My name is Gertrude, ranked 15th. in Sen'ya Ichiya's Scheherazade Division, and an Assistant Inquisitor of Eiserne Jungfrau."

"Let it be known that my name is Cornelia," the brunette said. "I am ranked 18th. in Sen'ya Ichiya's Scheherazade Division, and am also an Assistant Inquisitor of Eiserne Jungfrau."

"'Eiserne Jungfrau'? What's that?" Cana asked.

"**Within Sen'ya Ichiya, there are several freelance subgroups composed of various members that task themselves with certain duties. Eiserne Jungfrau is tasked with the majority of Sen'ya Ichiya's law enforcement.**" When Cornelia finished saying this, Erza and Meredy stepped back a little.

"? What was that?"

"The Bold Truth..." Erza said with some sweat.

"You are familiar with the absolute truth?" Cornelia asked. Erza simply nodded her head.

_The same magic... the same magic... as her..._ Erza could only shiver internally as she remembered the sadistic Eva-Beatrice.

"Are you also a member of Eiserne Jungfrau, Dlanor?" Natsu asked.

"INDEED," Dlanor answered. "**I am the leader of Eiserne Jungfrau's 7 Head Inquisitors of HERESY. Speaking of which, there is one other who is present HERE.**" Dlanor walked over to the open door and stuck her left hand into the Vehicle. When she pulled it out, she had in her hand a human girl. She was much taller that Dlanor, had short, green hair, and wore the same outfit as Dlanor... though this girl did a better job of "filling it in". Also, she didn't have gold plating on her left arm, but she did have a golden sleep mask with the letters "E" and "J" written on it.

"This is fellow Head Inquisitor of Heresy, and 5th. ranked member of the Yunan Division, Faule JURORIN."

"Nice to meet you," Natsu said, extending a hand. Faule, however, didn't shake. "What's going on here?"

"She is ASLEEP," was all Dlanor said before dropping the woman onto her back..

"WHAT?!" Then, a red beam of light shot out from Faule's forehead that created a red hologram of a standing and awake her, though she still wore the sleep mask.

"Hello~!" The hologram of Faule said in a very cheery manner. "I'm sorry that I can't be awake to meet you all, but this magic projection should surely suffice~!"

"When do you plan on waking up, exactly?"

"Hmm..." The hologram put a finger to its mouth. "Right now, I'm in the middle of a power nap, and when that's done, I gotta take an endurance nap, and then it'll be time for bed, and I'm bound to sleep in late, so~... I don't know~!"

"Who the hell sleeps that long?!" Lucy exclaimed. "Is the next person a big eater, or something?!"

"Dlanor-chan's already here~!" Everyone turned to see Dlanor eating a large ice cream cone that no one saw her leave to get. "Our fifth person is... where is she~?!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," A female voice said from inside the Vehicle. "My little gray cells just wanted to finish the chapter of this eBook I was on, no need to fuss."

"Ja, mein Führer," the four females of Eiserne Jungfrau said in unison, confusing the Fairy Tail mages. The fifth person then stepped out of the Vehicle. No one expected her to be a familiar face, but Wendy was met with something beyond expectations.

"Bernkastel-san?!" Wendy exclaimed upon seeing her face.

"? Who is that?"

"Huh? Aren't you..." Wendy took a second to analyze this girl. Sure, she looked a lot like Bernkastel, but there were several key differences. For starters, this girl's eyes were a dark blue, and they, along with her face, were filled with emotion. Her blue hair was done in twintails(something the Otaku would have a nosebleed about later), and her outfit consisted of a pink, frilly dress with white sleeves that came to the midpoint of her thighs, brown, floral stockings, white shoes, and a floral ornament on the left side of her head. But what were probably the most noticeable indicators that this wasn't Frederica Bernkastel were that this girl had a noticeably flat chest and no cat tail.

"...Never mind. I thought you looked like someone else..."

"I see. Well, just so there isn't any more confusion, I'll introduce myself in Bold. **Hi, pleased to meet you! I am Erika Furudo, the detective of Sen'ya Ichiya, second in command of the Scheherazade Division, current employer of Eiserne Jungfrau, and one of the two newly appointed members of the Magic Council! Please, welcome me!**" When Erika finished her introduction, everyone had a look of amazement on their faces at how important she was in the government. They didn't know it, but on the inside, this little thing made Erika absolutely ecstatic.

* * *

After the introductions, everyone went inside the guild(Faule had to be dragged) to discuss the next course of action.

"Jude-san, you were tasked by a Mr. Jean-Luc Neville to seal the clock hand, right?" Erika asked. "Are you aware of the locations of the rest of the Infinity Clock's pieces?"

"I wasn't at first," Jude started, "but then I remembered a book that Lucy used to read as a child, 'Key of the Starry Heavens'. It was written by Will Neville, a Celestial Spirit mage who left the Zentopia Church around the same time that the Infinity Clock was originally sealed. The book mentioned a girl looking for six special keys, and since the clock is split into six pieces, we concluded that the book is actually a sort of guide to the locations of each piece."

"GOOD!" Erika said, gratuitously. "What are the chances that Zentopia has already discovered this?"

"Since you can just, you know, buy it in a bookstore, pretty good," Natsu said, flatly.

"In that case, our plan shall go as follows: those of us here shall split ourselves into five groups and go to each location to retrieve a piece of the clock. After doing such, we shall take the pieces and hide them in different locations so Zentopia, or anyone else, will be unable to use them ever again!" Erika then jumped up on a table and stuck her arms out. "Simply by listening, this level of reasoning is possible for Erika Furudo. What do you think, everyone?" The crowd looked at her blankly.

"Applaud HER," Dlanor whispered. "If you don't, Cornelia will never be left alone as a RESULT." The Fairy Tail mages didn't quite understand, but they saw Cornelia's nervous expression, so they all applauded.

"GOOD. Now, before we create the teams, we need to assign people with the job of being leaders."

"'Leaders'?" Natsu asked.

"Of course. There has to be someone in each group who will be able to control everyone. I'd make myself one, but since most of us are Fairy Tail mages, it would be better for a member of your guild to be in charge of each team."

"And who will be the leaders, exactly?"

"The best people, I believe, are you, Gray-san, Erza-san, Levy-san, and Mirajane-san." Those mentioned nodded their heads in agreement. "Now that we have the leaders, it's time to make the teams..." A large piece of paper with multiple lines suddenly appeared out of thin air, "with Amidakuji!" Everyone in Fairy Tail sweat dropped at this.

"Hey, wouldn't my dad be the best leader?" Cana asked Natsu. "Where is he?"

"I, uh... asked him to do something for me..." was Natsu's response.

* * *

After the Amidakuji was complete, the teams went as such:

Team 1: Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Erika, Dlanor, Michelle, and Jude

Team 2: Erza, Jellal, Cana, Wendy, Carla, and Meredy

Team 3: Levy, Gajeel, Lily, Jet, Droy(these two cried tears of joy when they discovered that they were being included in something), and Faule

Team 4: Gray, Juvia, and Cornelia

Team 5: Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, and Gertrude

"How come mine and Mira's teams are the smallest?" Gray asked after the division.

"Mira-san's strength makes up for the lack of members, and I predict that Gray-san's assigned location will have only one of the weaker members of the Legion Corps appear," Erika said. "Oh, in case you're wondering, **that was the Underlined Truth that I just used.** We set off in twenty minutes, so have everything ready by then, got it?"

"Ja, mein Führer," the four females of Eiserne Jungfrau said in unison as they and everyone else all walked off in different directions(Faule's hologram simply disappeared). Even though they had twenty minutes, Natsu didn't really have anything to do, so he just planned on sitting around until it was time to go. At least, that was his plan before he was suddenly pulled to the back of the guild by Erza and Wendy.

"Hey, what gives?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"...There's something important that we need to tell you..." Erza said.

"? What?"

"When I was fighting against Meredy back in December, I used Birds of Arael to go inside of her mind. When I went inside, I encountered... someone."

"Huh? You mean... you met someone inside of another person's mind...?"

"Yes. She called herself the 'Black Witch', Eva-Beatrice."

"'Witch'? Who still uses terms like that? And what does this have to do with anything?"

"After she was defeated, she said that she would kill Meredy and I at the 'Endless Hour'."

"'Endless Hour'... are you saying you think she's involved with the Infinity Clock?!"

"Precisely. But that's not the end of it. As she vanished, she said the words 'time-jumping lizard'." Natsu got a look of shock when this was said. "I assume you understand that, as well. You didn't tell anyone your secret besides those we know you've told it to, right?"

"Of course not! I've never even heard of anyone named 'Eva-Beatrice'! As far as I'm concerned, a person like that shouldn't exist!" _Even if I say all of this, the fact of the matter is that there's some "witch" involved with this whole situation that knows my secret! How, though?!_

"There's one more thing that needs to be shared: while I encountered Eva-Beatrice... she used the Bold Truth and the Underlined Truth."

"?! That magic that Erika, Cornelia, and Dlanor used?!"

"Yes. **Once you first hear it, it's possible for anyone to use it, but I had never heard of such magic before, so it's safe to say that it's quite rare.**"

"...Erza, I know what you're trying to say, but there's no way that's possible...!"

"Um, well..." Wendy started, "I think it might be. Remember how I defied all medical science and came back to life with no brain damage whatsoever?" Natsu nodded his head. "Well, while I was in limbo, or whatever... I met a girl named Frederica Bernkastel-san. She called herself... the 'Witch of Miracles', and Erika-san bears a striking resemblance to her...!"

"! Then... if a 'witch' who you met looks like Erika, and another 'witch' is clearly involved with this, in some way... then..."

"Yes," Erza said. "It's highly possible that these members of Sen'ya Ichiya are actually our enemies."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	58. Let it be Known and Intellectual Rapist

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

After leaving the guild, the five teams all set out in various directions to get started on their mission.

* * *

**Team 1**

The first team, consisting of Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Erika Furudo, Dlanor, Michelle, and Jude, had made their way to a desert in their search for a piece of the clock when they came across a strange-looking device.

"It's unlikely to be just a random artifact," Natsu said.

"Do you think it's connected to the clock?" Jude asked.

"Maybe... what do you think, Erika?" Natsu turned around for a response, but what he got instead was Erika lying in the sand while fanned by Dlanor. "What are you doing?"

"It's hot~!" Erika whined.

"Be serious!"

"Mein Führer is too childish to act serious in this HEAT," Dlanor said.

_Isn't that your boss you're talking about? _Lucy thought with a sweat drop that blended in with her regular sweat.

"But I guess I _should_ help out those with brains not as good as mine," Erika said, annoying the group. She then got up, grabbed the collar of her dress, and ripped it off as if it were a cape, putting her in a school swimsuit, complete with a white rectangle on the front bearing her name in hiragana.

"Why were you wearing that?"

"Because we're in a desert! Simply because it's hot, this level of reasoning is possible for Furudo Eri-" The girl then started panting heavily. "It's too hot to ham. Dlanor, come fan me as I examine the device."

"Ja mein Führer," Dlanor said as they walked to it.

_This girl is rather... odd, _Natsu thought to himself. _It's hard to imagine her doing something evil... but the stuff Erza and Wendy said _does _make sense. Still though... it'd be good if that theory just stayed a theory. Erika, Gertrude, Cornelia, and Faule don't seem like bad people, and Dlanor's already my friend, so..._ As Natsu thought to himself, the ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly turned into a whirlpool of sand that sucked everyone in. _What in the world?!_

* * *

**Team 3**

Team 3, consisting of Levy, Gajeel, Lily, Jet, Droy, and Faule Jurorin, were climbing a large mountain as they headed for their piece of the clock. Though, not everyone was actually climbing the mountain. Lily was flying up through the air, and Faule, still asleep, was climbing it in a rather... odd fashion.

Somehow, while Faule was sleeping, she had summoned up a faceless, blue, muscular demon that the hologram of her introduced as "Id". Id was currently climbing up the mountain with Faule's sleeping body slung over its back.

"There are no depths to your laziness, are there, Sleeping Beauty?" Gajeel asked as they climbed.

"How rude~!" The hologram of Faule said with a pout. "This isn't me being lazy, it's me being tired~!"

"Sounds lazy to me."

"..." In a very tiny whisper that only a Dragon Slayer could hear, the hologram of Faule said, "You're the lazy one, Gajeel~. You _are _the only Dragon Slayer who isn't a true Dragon Slayer, after all~!" Gajeel stopped climbing after that was said.

"What's the holdup, Gajeel?" Levy asked.

"You guys go on ahead," Gajeel said. "I wanna talk to this girl for a bit."

"Huh?!" Levy then glared at the projection of Faule(mainly her chest) and got rather angry at the idea of Gajeel being alone with her. However, now was not the time for squabbling such as that, so Levy sucked it up and told the others to keep going, Jet and Droy being the happiest about it, seeing this as a chance for them to finally be in the spotlight.

When the other four were a good distance away, Gajeel climbed down to Id to start talking to Faule.

"What do _you _know about Dragon Slayers?" He asked.

"A bunch~!" Faule's hologram said. "I'm good friends with Fuyu Navidades, and since I'm also smart, she lets me see what she's researching a lot~! Because of this, I know all about Dragon Slayer stuff~!"

"Then... what has to be done to become a true Dragon Slayer?"

"Hmmm~ From what I remember, it happens in one of two ways~: you either become completely in tune with the true you, or just get really, really strong~!"

"So _that's _it? I just gotta train some more?"

"In theory... but it'd probably be best for you to do the first one~."

"?"

"After all, wouldn't it be a good idea to get back to being the you from eight years ago~?"

"! What do you-" At that moment, the two of the them saw a purple light flash in the sky, followed by some screaming.

"Oh! Looks like they're in trouble~! Let's go, Id~!" The blue demon nodded and started climbing up very fast with Gajeel right behind.

_...The me from eight years ago... _

* * *

**Team 4**

Team 4, consisting of Gray, Juvia, and Cornelia, had arrived at the temple where a piece of the clock was to reside when they were suddenly attacked by a stone golem blocking the entrance. Even though they attacked it, it seemed to be immune to their attacks.

"Allow me to speak," Cornelia said. "What is the plan for fighting this monster, Gray?"

"There is no plan!" Gray said while taking off his shirt.

"N-No plan?!" _Also, why is he stripping?!_ As they talked, Juvia blasted the golem's eye with water, causing it to crumble in an instant.

"Oh, so that eye was its weakness," Juvia said. "That sure was lucky."

"You attacked it without a plan?! Let it be known that that seems very irresponsible!"

"So... you have a problem with us, members of _Fairy Tail_, being irresponsible?" Gray asked. Cornelia nodded her head, and both Gray and Juvia started to laugh like crazy.

"Let's just go in!"

* * *

When they finally got inside the temple, the three of them saw a multitude of cubes floating in the air, each with an orange arrow on its side.

"Allow me to speak," Cornelia said. "We should be cautious of these cubes, as we don't know what sort of trap they might-" Before Cornelia finished, though, Gray and Juvia started blasting the cubes with magic, causing them all to fly in different directions. "Shouldn't your actions have some sort of order to them?!"

"There are some things you just gotta do with your gut," Gray said.

"But-" Before Cornelia could finish, several cubes fit themselves into various holes on the wall, creating the symbol of the Zentopia Church. As soon as it did, a bright light was emitted that completely blinded them.

* * *

**Team 1**

Back with the first team, the group of seven, after falling down a large hole created from tampering with the device, eventually found themselves in a large room with a statue in the middle.

"It doesn't look like there are any doors that lead out of here," Happy said.

"Then what do we do?" Michelle said.

"Maybe if we spin that statue around, it'll open a secret door!" Lucy said.

"...Really?"

"Well, it's worth a shot!" Lucy ran to the statue to turn it, but Dlanor stopped her. "Dlanor?"

"Now testing Knox's 3RD." Dlanor said. A red light suddenly shone from her body that covered the entire area for a brief moment before fading. "Test COMPLETE. No hidden doors or passages EXIST."

"Huh?! How do you know that?!"

"Knox's Decalogue never LIES."

"'Knox's Decalogue'?"

"It's an Artificial Magic that is a vital tool for Dlanor's work," Erika(still in her swimwear) said. "It lets her discover the existence of certain falsehoods of a Job without fail."

"Wow! Did you create it, Dlanor?!"

"...NO," Dlanor said. "It was created by my FATHER..." Even though Dlanor wasn't speaking any differently, everyone could feel an awkward air.

"...Anyway, because of the Decalogue, we know that there isn't a hidden door," Erika said. "Since there is only the door we came through, the only way to advance..." A flintlock materialized in Erika's hand that she pointed at the ground, "is down." Erika pulled the trigger and fired a blue blast of energy, creating a large hole that she and Dlanor jumped down into.

"Are they nuts?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Who isn't a little, though?" Natsu asked as he and Happy jumped down.

"There's no way I'm just gonna-" While Lucy was talking, though, Michelle got behind her and pushed her elder cousin into the hole. "AAAAAAAAAH~!"

"...Why did you do that?" Jude asked.

"I thought it'd be fun!" Michelle exclaimed.

"...Right..." The two then followed suit.

* * *

**Team 4**

Concurrently, Gray's group awakens having been teleported to a strange place with other, larger floating blocks, and decide to use their magic again to make the blocks form a bridge, which they follow to explore the labyrinth. However, while they were doing this, they suddenly came across an unexpected face.

"(Earth Land)Sugarboy!" Gray shouted.

"Great to see you again, Ice Boy!" Earth Land Sugarboy exclaimed. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I got a clock part to get! YEAH!" Suddenly, Earth Land Sugarboy slime appeared and trapped Gray and Juvia. Cornelia, though, summoned up a red barrier that protected her from being caught. "Not bad, Barrier Girl!" He then created a large quantity of slime that carried him away.

"Stay there," Cornelia said. "I'll take care of him." Cornelia, having figured out the blocks travel in a circle, then turned around and started to run in the opposite direction.

* * *

After a few minutes, Cornelia met up with Earth Land Sugarboy.

"Let it be known that you should cease your actions immediately," Cornelia said.

"As if!" Earth Land Sugarboy shouted, sending one of the two remaining blocks flying at Cornelia. Cornelia, though, summoned her barrier and blocked it. "Is defending the only thing you can do, Barrier Girl?!"

"..." The barrier then expanded to an incredible size that pushed Earth Land Sugarboy off of the circuit.

"OH NO!" He quickly used his slime as a grappling hook to get back up, but as soon as he was standing, Cornelia was right in front of him and delivered a powerful punch to his stomach that defeated him instantly.

"Allow me to speak. You are an irritating person." Cornelia then noticed that there was one block left and used her barrier to set it in place. This resulted in the circuit becoming complete and the clock part appearing overhead.

"Let it be known... that not having a plan isn't always bad."

* * *

**Team 1**

After landing, Natsu's team found themselves in an underground cavern. After exploring it for a bit, they found themselves in a crypt, with Lucy declaring that she had a bad feeling about this. This was confirmed to a degree when they found themselves face-to-face with Earth Land Coco and a man wielding a spear.

"Legion Corps?!" Natsu shouted. "How did they get here before us?!"

"...How _did _we, Dan-san?" Earth Land Coco asked the man.

"Beats me," Dan said. "Doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about-" Dan suddenly stopped talking to jump out of the way of a purple energy scythe being wielded by Erika.

"Legion Corps' Spearhead, Dan Straights," Erika said. "I'll take care of you first."

"Is that... the Blue Key of Reflection?" Natsu asked Dlanor, as the scythe reminded him of her weapon.

"CORRECT," Dlanor said. "The Red and Blue Keys are conceptual weapons, so they do not have a fixed FORM. Faule uses them to create her hologram and demons to help her move, Gertrude and Cornelia create barriers, and mein Führer creates her scythe, along with the gun you saw EARLIER. However, mein Führer's scythe, the Scythe of Truth, is special, as it combines both the Red Key of Judgement _and _the Blue Key of REFLECTION." While they were talking, Erika was fighting Dan with no difficulty whatsoever. Whenever he thrusted his lance, Erika dodged. Whenever he tried to use his shield, Erika stopped her attack and jumped back.

"What's going on?!" Dan yelled. "You're actions... it's like you know all of my tactics!"

"That's because I do," Erika said. "Before coming here, I went through all available files for the Legion Corps. That shield, 'Ricochet', reflects any attack that comes in contact with it, and that lance, 'Habaraki', changes the size of whatever it hits. Hahahaha! Such a simple fighting style will hardly provide a satisfactory rape!"

"'Rape'?!" is what everyone, sans Dlanor, shouted.

"I am an intellectual rapist. I find out everything there is to know about my enemies..." Dan leapt at Erika with his lance, but she dodged to the left and delivered a powerful slash to his side that broke his armor, "and use it to crush them in the most humiliating of ways." Dan cried out in agony from the damage that was just dealt to him. His screams soon became silent, though, when Erika snapped her fingers and caused a vinyl bag to appear over his head.

"Wh-What are you doing to Dan-san?!" Earth Land Coco asked as Erika walked over to him.

"Well, I wouldn't want his blood all over my clothes, now would I?" Before anyone could act, Erika put the blade of her weapon at Dan's neck, did a vertical slash, and let his head roll onto the ground.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Pie: You're a monster, you know that, right?**

**Fox: Hey, in this story, anyone can die. Except Natsu's team; they have Plot Shield.**

**Pie: Didn't Wendy die, though?**

**Fox: I have a plan for that. Anywho, it's time for a long, overdue...**

* * *

***The curtain for **_**Fairy Channel**_ **goes up, but Wendy doesn't say anything and looks mad***

**Fox(Whisper): It's too quiet... Is she mad at me for taking so long to get chapters out, lately? *Turns to Wendy* Um... um, it's already started...*The theme music goes off* **

**Fox(Regular volume): Th-That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! I just wanted to say it.**

_**Fairy Channel **_**has started once again! Since Wendy is in a foul mood-*Wendy slams her hand on the table***

**Wendy(In deep voice): Saying your name before Wendy Marvell's... you don't understand the word "hierarchy", do you?**

**Fox: Th-that's not what I-*Wendy slams her hand again***

**Wendy: You've been Slakothing a great deal lately, haven't you?**

**Fox: "Slakothing"?**

**Wendy: Don't get so full of yourself!**

**Fox: I'm terribly sorry!**

**Wendy: It's stupid to think that this level of popularity is completely secure, isn't it?**

**Fox: It's as you say.**

**Wendy: You're going to write twice as much now!**

**Fox: "Twice as much"?!**

**Wendy: This speed is completely useless. You have to get faster to stay in these people's hearts!*The theme music goes off* **

**Wendy(In her cute voice): Well then, everyone, we'll continue on with this story.**

**Fox: L-look forward to next time.**

**Wendy: Bye-bee!*Curtain drops* **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	59. Court is in Session

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**Team 2**

Team 2, consisting of Erza, Jellal, Cana, Wendy, Carla, and Meredy, had made their way to the Magic Library that should contain a piece of the Infinity Clock.

"I bet there's a ton of yaoi here," was the first thing Wendy said, earning a slap on the head from Carla.

"We're here to find a piece of the Infinity Clock, not gay porn!" Carla shouted.

"Why can't we do both?"

"Are you serious?!"

"Just leave her alone," Jellal and Meredy said in simultaneous monotone.

"Why are you two okay with this?! Jellal, you love Wendy like a daughter, don't you?! Why are you okay with her liking such things?!"

"Well, right now, Wendy and I are in the stage of our father-daughter relationship where I do and accept nearly everything she does," Jellal said.

"By the way, Jellal, can I have 10,000 Jewels for something I need?" Wendy asked her surrogate father.

"...Okay," Jellal pulled a 10,000 Jewel bill from his wallet and handed it to Wendy, "but only because it's for something you need."

_What the f*ck is happening in my life right now?! _Carla thought to herself.

"ENOUGH!" Erza yelled. "You all need to stop goofing off! Especially you two, Meredy and Cana!"

"But we didn't do anything..." Meredy and Cana said with sweat drops.

"Silence! There is no room for silliness at a time like this!" Erza then took a few steps forward to begin looking for the clock part, but the ground below suddenly gave way, and Erza fell into a hole with a loud, "KYAA!"

"That was pretty cute..." Wendy remarked with Jellal, Meredy, and Cana nodding in agreement.

"Shouldn't we be wondering _why _there was a pitfall there?" Carla asked with a sweat drop. Before she could be answered, though, all of the lights in the building went off, confusing the group. Then, a spotlight shone on one part of the building, revealing the man who they would later learn to be Lackey A of the Jiggle Butt Gang.

"Prepare for trouble!" He said. Another spotlight appeared that revealed Lackey B of the Jiggle Butt Gang.

"And make it double!" He said.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples with flatulation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our farts to the stars above!"

"Kalen Berg!"

"Marco Belunjay!"

"The Jiggle Butt Gang, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" A third spotlight appeared, revealing their leader.

"Wonderful Gocche, that's right!" He said, all of the lights coming back on at the same time.

"...What is this, I don't even..." Carla said.

"This is... odd..." Cana said.

"That seems like an understatement," Jellal said.

"Words cannot describe this," Meredy said.

"Those outfits are so cool~!" Wendy exclaimed.

_Read the flow, you idiot! _The four thought in unison.

"We are the Jiggle Butt Gang!" Their Boss shouted. "We have come here to purloin this Library's piece of the Infinity Clock!"

"How do you know about that?" Carla asked before giving a fierce glare towards Wendy.

"I didn't do anything!" She cried.

"Um..." Meredy started, "I might have accidentally Tweeted about it earlier today..." Carla's jaw dropped at this. It was also at that moment that Erza finally managed to climb out of the hole and look at the Jiggle Butt Gang. Approximately three seconds after that, she had a look of ultimate rage, and the Gang had a unanimous look of fear.

"You're the creeps who walked in on me while I was changing!" Erza shouted, the statement of which annoyed Jellal.

"It's the monster girl!" The Jiggle Butt Gang shouted. "Please don't hurt us~!"

"Give me one reason why!"

"It was just an accident!" Lackey A shouted.

"We didn't mean to peep!" Lackey B shouted.

"We just wanted to rob you!" Their Boss shouted.

"BOSS!" The Lackeys yelled in unison.

"But it's not like we have a choice in this lifestyle! Especially me!"

"Really~?" Erza asked with a scowl. "Why is that~?"

"You wanna know? Fine, I'll tell you my sad tale. I was bouncing through the west..." A few minutes later, Wendy was bawling her eyes out.

"That's such a sad story!" Wendy cried. "I'm so touched by it that... I think I want to join you!"

"What?!" Meredy shouted.

"I just feel compelled to do it!"

"You just want to wear that outfit, don't you?"

"So much!"

"Well, here you go!" The Jiggle Butt Gang shouted, tossing a uniform in Wendy's size towards the petite Otaku. Then, with a speed too fast for anything to be seen, Wendy put on the outfit.

"This is so cool!"

"It's a little... revealing, isn't it?" Meredy asked, noticing how the outfit accentuated Wendy's curves while trying to hold back blush.

"It must allow for maximum mobility." Wendy then started shaking her butt. "Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all!"

"P-Please don't wave your ass in my face!"

"That's the spirit!" The Boss shouted. "Now let's get to thieving!"

"...Yeah, no," Erza said, Requippng her Lightning Empress Armor and zapping the "thieves" with enough electricity to apparently cause an explosion and send them flying through the roof.

"Looks like the Jiggle Butt Gang's blasting off again~!" They all shouted, finally disappearing with a twinkle.

"...I'm keeping this outfit on, you know," Wendy said.

* * *

**Team 3**

When Gajeel and Faule got to the top of the mountain, they were treated to an unexpected sight. They saw Jet and Droy facedown in the dirt(probably having suffered a most humiliating defeat), Levy cowering behind a rock, and Lily, in Battle Mode, was trapped in a headlock by what appeared to be another Exceed bearing a matching physical stature.

"Had enough yet, nii-san?" The other Exceed asked, having not yet noticed Gajeel and Faule.

"Don't call me 'nii-san', Sammy!" Lily exclaimed.

"Then don't call me 'Sammy' when my name is 'Samuel'!" Samuel then started flying downwards to slam Lily's head into a rock. However, before such an impact could be made, Lily's head was caught in the hands of a slim, red, faceless creature wearing what appeared to be a cape.

"Sa~fe~!" Faule's projection cheered. "Nice catch, Super-ego~!"

"Wh-What is this?! I didn't calculate anything of the sort!" Super-ego then pulled Lily out of Samuel's grasp, threw him to the ground, and headbutted Samuel in the gut. The creature then grabbed Samuel's torso and threw him towards the edge of the mountain.

_Heh! Stupid thing forgot I can fly! _Before Samuel could use his wings to get himself balanced, though, his neck was met with a powerful lariat. _Wh-What?! _When he looked forward to see the adversary, he saw a creature with the exact same body as Faule, but its body was completely blue, it had no face mask, revealing a featureless face, and instead of Faule's outfit, it wore a sexy bunny girl outfit.

"What's up with that outfit?!" Gajeel yelled.

"I thought it'd be fun~!" Faule's hologram exclaimed. "Finish him off, Ego~!" Ego then threw Samuel into the air and set up the powerful Kinniku Driver, defeating him instantly when his head hit the ground. "Yay~!" Faule's hologram held up a "V" for "Victory".

* * *

**Team 5**

Team 5, consisting of Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, and Gertrude, had discovered a piece of the Infinity Clock to be at the bottom of a lake. Not wanting to waste any time, Gertrude jumped into the lake to try and retrieve it. After a few minutes, the Strausses saw that all of the water had drained out of the lake and Gertrude was standing by some sort of plug, the clock bell being a few meters away from her.

"Wow!" Mira said as she and her siblings jumped into the now barren lake. "You went underwater, but your hair's still perfect! What do you use?"

"L'Oreal. Because I'm worth it," Gertrude said. "...Let it be known that that was a joke. I simply summoned a barrier that protected me from the water."

"Ah..." Lisanna said, a little surprised at that kind of humor. "Anyway, let's get the clock part and hide it somewhere."

"Like men!" Elfman shouted as he pulled the bell out of the ground.

"Allow me to speak," Gertrude said. "You're the only man here." Then, surprising everyone, Elfman suddenly threw the bell away from the group.

"Thank you~! Mary's so happy that you got this for her!" was said by Mary Hughes who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, pointing a wand at Elfman that looked like her previously shattered Holy Tact, but with a big yellow "2" on the back.

"...Are you a member of Zentopia's Legion Corps?"

"That's right! I'm here to punish you guys for interfering with our crusade using the awesome might of my Holy Tact #2!"

"What happened to the first one?"

"...I don't wanna talk about it..."

"Is this actually any different from the regular one?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Mary Hughes then pointed her wand at Mira. Afterwards, a second finger went up, and Mira was enveloped in a golden light, followed by a black light, and then what appeared to be Mira using Satan Soul: Sitri(A/N: Manga design) suddenly appeared.

"Sit...ri...?" Mira asked weakly.

"That's right! The Second Movement allows me to personify a person's magic and make it my servant; watch!" Satan Soul: Sitri then kicked Mira in the stomach and sent her flying.

"Nee-san!" Elfman shouted. He and Lisanna tried to run to her, but Gertrude summoned a barrier around the three of them and stopped them from going. "What's the big idea?!"

"Allow me to speak," Gertrude said. "If the three of us tried to get involved here, we would most definitely die."

"'Die'?!" Lisanna parroted.

"Yes. Mirajane Strauss' Take Over magic, 'Satan Soul', works by forming contracts with the 72 demons of the Ars Goetia, one of the five leading factions of the Makai. Let it be known that Sitri is ranked 12th. out of the 72, and is far too powerful for the three of us to handle, even together."

"But..."

"It's alright, Lisanna," Mira's voice said before Satan Soul: Sitri was blasted by a laser beam of some sort. The three in the barrier turned to see Mira using her Satan Soul: Halphas. "I can handle this just fine." Mira seemed confident, but that confidence dropped a little when she saw that, after the dust cleared, her opponent was barely fazed.

"That the best you got?" Mary Hughes asked. "If that's the case, then this'll be easy! Destroy her, Sitri!" Satan Soul: Sitri released a battle cry and flew at Mira. Mira punched the apparition in the face as it flew towards her, but that only stopped it for a brief moment. It then blasted Mira with fire that sent her back a bit, but that was just a distraction so she would lower her guard for a brief enough moment for Satan Soul: Sitri punch her in the face. It then kneed Mira in the stomach, slashed at her chest, and covered its hands in fire, giving it enough strength to rip her wings off. Mira was silent for a moment, but as soon as blood started to flood out of her wounds, she fell to the ground screaming.

_It hurts... it hurts...! _Mira thought to herself. _Halphas is my second strongest Take Over, but he's only ranked 38th. in the Ars Goetia! Winning this fight is impossible! Unless..._

_No... I may have a contract set up with Buer that just needs a few signatures, and he's ranked 10th., but... it's too risky. The demons of Ars Goetia are cruel beings that lust for entertainment, and with my lack of activity for the last two years, they might not approve of a contract. _Mira then weakly turned her head towards her siblings and Gertrude. _But still... I have to try!_ Mustering her last bit of strength, Mira stood up and deactivated Halphas, returning to her normal form.

"Wha~t? Giving up now?"

"Far... from it!" A paper and quill pen then appeared in front of Mira, floating in the air. She grabbed the pen and signed her name near the bottom. After doing so, a black light enveloped Mira's body. When it faded, everyone was shocked to see that the girl had vanished.

"Nee-san?" Elfman asked.

"Wh-What happened?" Lisanna asked.

"Allow me to speak," Gertrude said. "I have detected the usage of teleportation magic by Mirajane Strauss."

"'Teleportation magic'?! Where did Mira-nee go?!"

"That... I do not know."

* * *

When Mira's sight returned to her, she was in a completely new place. She was sitting on a bench in a sort of hallway, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, chains around her wrists and ankles. There was a window behind her head. Mira turned around to see a blue sky with a large multitude of moons.

_I'm here again..._ Mira thought. _The Makai._

"Get up," A new voice said, shocking Mira. She quickly turned her head back to the front to see a person standing there. This man seemed to be clad entirely in black and purplish armor. His hands were large blades, and a metallic wing stuck out from the left side of his body.

"Who... are you?"

"I am Judge Buster, the Adjudicutting Djinn. I am the acting bailiff of today's trial."

"I see... I had always heard of trials being conducted to see if one is worthy of forming a contract, but I never actually had to do one..."

"They are necessary when the person who desires my lords' power either asks for the top ten to grant or that person has annoyed them in some way; in your case, it is both."

"Right. I stopped fighting with them for two years, and according to that stupid dog, I'm not as good now as I could be. It's only natural that they'd be upset with me..." Judge Buster motioned for Mira to stand, so she did. The two then started walking down the hall.

"I probably don't need to mention this, but if you don't gain the approval for the contract... you will die here."

"...I figured as much..."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Mira's putting her life on the line to gain a new Satan Soul! Will she form the contract, or will she perish here? Find out next time, on **_**Fairy Tail Redux: Salamander's Time Traveling Escapades**_**!**

**Pie: Please don't kill her.**

**Fox: Who said I was?! You think that just because I said that anyone can die, I'll be killing characters left and right?!**

**Pie: Yes.**

**Fox: Well, you're wrong! Besides' her death wouldn't even make sense here!**

**Pie: So you say.**

**Fox: Shut it. **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	60. Qualifications for being a Daemon

**For those of you who would care, I have begun uploading this series on deviantART. My username there is the same here, so if that tickles your fancies, give it a look. **

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**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The Makai, birthplace of all sentinoids. For centuries, milleniums, even, the people born here have always faced extreme segregation from the humans of Earth Land. While relations have gradually been getting better between the two races, especially since the days of the Rave Master, there still exists a large wall between them. This wall is made even larger due to the intense hatred of humans dwelling inside "Pumpkin" Doryu, the eldest of the Makai's Five Demon Kings. However, this is not the time to discuss the Makai's political structure and race issues. Right now, the main area of focus lies with Mirajane Strauss.

As Judge Buster walked Mira to the courtroom, the only thing on her mind was the fact that she might die. Something like this might seem natural, but not for Mira, a person who has only rarely, possibly never, thought of anything but the happiness of others. One would expect her to be worrying about whether or not she'd be able to save her siblings, but that was an impossible thought, considering that she was about to deal with incredibly malicious beings who would want nothing more than for her to suffer.

* * *

After arriving at the courtroom, a black area with a size that dwarfed even the Fairy Tail guild,Mira came face-to-face with the members of Ars Goetia that would be putting her on trial. There were 72 extremely large couches for each member, but today, only the top ten would be present, and only seven of them, too.

The first was the one Mira was trying to form a contract with, President Buer. He was a centaur whose human portion was dark green in color. The hair on his head and chin seemed to be composed entirely of vines, and he looked at Mira with intense, pure black eyes.

The second was the seventh ranked demon, Marquis Amon. Amon had a humanoid, naked, male body and the head of a raven, making him an oddity even in the Makai.

Next was the sixth ranked demon, Duke Valefar. Valefar's body was that of a lion on all fours, but his head was that of a dark-skinned man with a black bandanna covering his left eye, diagonally.

Right next to Valefar was demon #5, President Barbas. Like Valefar, Barbas was a lion, but his head matched his body. Not only that, but he stood on his hind legs, and his left paw and jaw were both made entirely out of metal.

After Barbas came the #3 guy, Prince Vassago. Although Vassago had "Prince" in his name, his name hardly went along with his appearance, as Vassago's body appeared to be completely covered in giant eyeballs, all of which glared at Mira.

Nearby that monstrosity was the second-in-command of Ars Goetia, Duke Agares. Agares was a humanoid crocodile dressed in tight, black leather, and held a whip in his right hand as he looked at Mira while licking his lips.

Finally, in the center of them all, was the leader of Ars Goetia, and one of the Makai's Five Demon Kings, King Bael. Even though this was indeed true, nothing about Bael could be considered remotely threatening. His white body was extremely small and animalish; if one exact animal had to be used for Bael, it would be impossible, for his main body and unwavering smile looked like a cat's, but rabbit-like ears stuck out of his cat ears, and his tail seemed to resemble a fox's tail. The tips of the rabbit ears were a light pink, and said ears had yellow rings suspended in the air around them. On his back was an open circle with a redness that matched Bael's emotionless eyes that were focused solely on Mira; despite being emotionless, no one could deny the intense ferocity that seemed to be emitted from them.

"My masters, I bring before you Mirajane Strauss," Judge Buster said.

"Excellent," Bael said, his face not showing a single inch of movement. Judge Buster moved a few steps back, inviting the previous silence back.

_What do I say here? _Mira wondered. _What do I _do _here? _As she thought to herself, she noticed Valefar motioning his paw as if he wanted her to come forward. Going along with it, she took a few steps before being motioned to stop by the lion. Valefar then pointed to the left, causing Mira to look in that direction, as well. When she did, a banana cream pie flew right into her face, earning snickers from most of the people there.

"Good one, aniki!" Amon said in the midst of laughter.

"Gufufufu!" Valefar guffawed. "She walked right into that one! Gufufufufu!"

"Can we please focus on the matter at hand here?!" Mira yelled while wiping white cream off her face. The room went silent.

"Hey... you come here begging for help, and yet you _criticize _our behavior?!" Valefar jumped off of his couch and tackled Mira to the ground. "Consider it a privilege that we are allowing this trial to take place!"

"I-I do...! S-S-Sorry...!"

"Leave her alone, would ya, Valefar?" Barbas asked. With a big "Hmph!", he got off of Mira, put her back on her feet, and walked back to his couch. "Now, then, let us begin the trial. State your request, Mirajane Strauss, and we shall judge if it deserves to be carried out."

"..."

"What's the matter? Hurry up and ask for what you want!"

"! I... I wish for Buer to lend me the power for a Satan Soul..." There was a minute of silence after this, no one even moving. Finally, Buer got off his couch, trotted to a little in front of Mira, and asked, "Why?"

"...Right now, my siblings and an associate of ours are in a fight that we can't win, and I need more power in order for us to claim victory."

"No. I meant, 'Why do you feel that you deserve my power?'."

"Eh?"

"Mirajane Strauss. Whilst under the impression that your younger sister perished, you gave up fighting entirely for two years. That caused you to gain a severely lacking demonic strength and mindset," Vassago said, all of his eyes glowing an eerie purple.

"...So...?" Suddenly, Agares' whip was coiled around Mira's torso as he lifted her up and flung her hard into the ground.

"So you're pathetic!" The crocodile yelled. "If you want to use our powers, you need to have an unrivaled ruthlessness within you! Maybe it was there when you were a kid, but not anymore! Now you're just a stupid barmaid with a nice rack!" He lifted her up and slammed her into the ground again. "You think someone like _you_ is entitled to our power?!" Mira was slammed again. "You deserve nothing!" Mira was slammed again. "And you will _get _nothing!" Mira was slammed again, but this time, she was lifted twice as high into the air, and Agares laughed maliciously while it happened. After that, all the demons, sans Bael, began to laugh, as well.

"Okay, that's enough," Bael said, ending the laughter. "President Buer, what is your verdict?"

"Mirajane Strauss has lost all of the necessary qualities for using our powers effectively," Buer said. "I don't see any reason as to why I, or anyone else, should waste time bestowing power upon such a soft-hearted female."

"Alright, then. In that case, Mirajane Strauss is sentenced to death." Bael's eyes, mouth, and voice gave no indication of emotion, but Mira could immediately sense the wickedness in all of it. And then, right then and there, she cried. "Judge Buster, if you would." Judge Buster was enveloped in a dark light for several seconds. When it faded, his form had changed. He now wore dark purple and gold armor that formed a sort of coattail. His left hand was still a sword(now with a bladed wing attached to the shoulder), but his right hand had become a regular hand, though it now held a large scythe.

"If anyone does not satisfy the Lords Ars Goetia, let them be accursed at Their Coming. They'll save you for your fate," Judge Buster said as he pulled back Mira's head and placed the blade of the scythe at her neck. "_Aaaaaameeeeeeen!_" Judge Buster pulled the scythe back to lob off Mira's head, but before it could even come halfway towards it, a beam of light blasted the scythe and melted the blade. "Hm?!" A second beam of light shone right in front of Mira that soon gained a physical shape. It was a tall man with long, white hair whose bangs were tied in an upward ponytail similar to Mira's. His body from the neck down was clad in white armor with wings and had רזיאל written on the chest.

_What...? Who is... this...? _Mira pondered. _I've never seen him before... but he feels... familiar..._

"What are you doing here, Raziel? Or, rather, Raziel's contractor."

"...I've come to participate in the trial of Mirajane Strauss."

"Absurd!" Agares yelled. "She has already been sentenced to death! You have no say here, human!"

"Article 623-B: A user of Satan Soul or Angel Soul is able to fill in for the being he or she has formed a contact with."

"!"

"Article 45-Z12: The Archangels, in a trial, hold equal power to the top ten members of Ars Goetia, so a request to participate cannot be refused. Unless, of course, you desire war of a certain kind, Agares."

"..." In all actuality, Agares wouldn't mind a war right now. However, he didn't have final say on decisions; Bael did. And what the rabbit-cat-fox thing decided was to say, "very well, then. State your thoughts, sir."

_This guy... is he really... going to help me? _Mira asked herself. _I can't believe that... to a person he's never even met..._

"Spare Mirajane Strauss' life and cancel all of her contracts, for compensation," Raziel's contractor said.

_...What?_

"I agree with your opinion that she is not fit to be granted Buer's power. However, there is no need to kill her because of it. From your perspective, killing her would entice immense euphoria within you all, but that would only last a short amount of time. However... if you stripped her of all of her magic," Agares started nodding his head at the word "stripped", "and left her completely powerless, wouldn't that be more satisfying?"

_This isn't helping..._

"If it's like that, wouldn't you be able to watch her suffer day by day from the reality of being utterly useless?"

_He's just... mocking me...! _"...What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The man turned slightly towards Mira.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm helping you."

"No, you're not! All you're doing is making fun of me! You're just as bad as these guys!"

"What did you expect me to do, lie about how violent you actually are? It's already been established that the violent Mirajane Strauss died a long time ago, so convincing them otherwise is utterly pointless."

"..."

"The only way you could live is by casting aside all remnants of your lost past. The Ars Goetia has no need for a person like you."

"...If that's the case... then I'll _make _them have a need for me!"

"...?"

"I'll do everything in my power to change these demons' mindsets about how a contractor has to act and make a person like me seem alright!" Suddenly, Mira felt the air and gravity in the room intensify greatly. At first, she didn't understand why, but she then saw that all of Ars Goetia had started emitting an intense amount of magical energy. From this, Mira thought that she was definitely going to die. However, the intensity died down almost as fast as it showed up.

"...Mirajane Strauss," Bael started, "that was what happens when just a few of us get annoyed. Such a claim would annoy all 72 of us... and yet, you are still willing to go along with that plan of yours?" Still not sure of what was really happening, Mira nervously nodded her head. "Good. Show us all just how far that conviction goes. Show us what kind of change you can bring about. Show us... the power of kindness."

* * *

The events that happened in the Makai took up almost an hour, but for some reason, no time had passed at all in Earth Land. So as soon as Gertrude finished saying, "That... I do not know.", the black light that caused Mira's disappearance reappeared and brought her back, much to her siblings(and possibly Gertrude's) joy. However, she didn't look the same as she did when she vanished, because now, she had formed a contract with Buer and was given the right to use his power in a Satan Soul.

Like Buer, Mira was a centaur in this Satan Soul. The horse part of her had silver fur and two long, black tails. The human part of her body was completely naked except for vines that covered the front of her chest and a gauntlet that appeared to be made of bark on her right arm.

"Huh~? What's this~?" Mary Hughes asked with a chuckle. "You think becoming a furry or whatever is going to help you? As if! Finish her off, Satan Soul: Sitri!" Satan Soul: Sitri let loose a giant fireball towards Mira, but she simply snapped her fingers and summoned a large bush that completely blocked the attack. "What?!"

"Wow!" Lisanna exclaimed.

"Manly!" Elfman yelled.

"What's going on here?!" Mary Hughes yelled. "You weren't this strong a second ago!"

"Actually, I was," Mira said. "I haven't gotten any stronger; I'm still as weak as I was before. However..." A bow then appeared in Mira's left hand while an arrow appeared in her right, "even a weakling has the potential to become strong!" Mira took aim of Satan Soul: Sitri and fired her arrow, it piercing the target's chest faster than anyone could blink. Two seconds later, the opposite end of the arrow started to grow and grow until it became a giant venus fly trap that bit off half of Satan Soul: Sitri's body, vertically.

* * *

"It seems like she won using Buer's power," Bael said back in the courtroom, now empty except for him and the contractor of Raziel. "Looks like it wasn't a waste to accept your proposal of letting her live, nor was it a waste to give her a chance to change how we think. It'll be nice to see what that girl can show me. Her siblings, too, might be fun to watch, right?"

"..." was the contractor's response.

"In all seriousness, though, she's got real guts to stand up to me like that. Mirajane might not be a demon anymore, but that kid of yours sure is tough."

"Hmph. No thanks to her stupid father, though."

"Whatever."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Next chapter shall be the turning point of the Infinity Clock arc, so look forward to it!**

**Pie: I'm looking forward to-*Notices a puddle of blood touching his foot* What is this?**

**Fox: That's odd.*Looks around and sees Wendy facedown in a pile of blood* WENDY?! **

**Wendy: Ugh...**

**Pie: Should we take her to a doctor?**

**Wendy: No doctor... just a nosebleed...**

**Pie: Seriously?! Over what?!**

**Wendy: Bael... he's Kyubey...**

**Pie: ...It was just that...**

**Wendy: No... it's also about me...**

**Pie: ?**

**Wendy: In the English dub... I'm... I'm...*Suddenly brings head up with a smile and nosebleed* I'm voiced by Brittney Karbowski!**

**Pie: You're an idiot.**

**Wendy: That's besides the point.**

**Pie: Don't admit to it! Why would you react to news like that in such a way?!**

**Fox: Hey! Brittney Karbowski is awesome! Sure, I would've preferred Stephanie Sheh, but Brittney Karbowski's cool, too!**

**Pie: ...Shut up... you idiots...**

**Fox and Wendy: Uguu~! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	61. THIS IS WHAT ZENTOPIA ACTUALLY BELIEVES

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Please support the official release. **

* * *

After Mira gained Satan Soul: Buer and defeating Satan Soul: Sitri in one attack, Mary Hughes became so scared of her that she dropped the clock bell and ran away from the scene with her tail between her legs. As soon as she was out of sight, Mira disengaged her magic and collapsed face first into the dirt.

"Nee-san!" Elfman shouted as he, Lisanna, and Gertrude ran over to her.

"Allow me to speak," Gertrude said after looking at Mira for a brief moment. "It appears that Mirajane Strauss has lost consciousness due to the injuries suffered prior to her disappearance. ...Upon closer inspection, it also looks like she suffered damage outside of that time period. Further study should be done in order to determine how this could be."

"So... what should we do now?" Lisanna asked.

"As you two are her family, you should take her back to the guild so she can recover properly. I will take the bell and relocate to a place that Zentopia will not be able to locate. Hopefully, the other teams have reached that stage in the operation, as well." Speaking of other teams, let us now return to Natsu's team that we haven't heard from since Erika decapitated Dan Straight.

* * *

After the beheading, Erika made quick work of Earth Land Coco, but because of everyone(sans Dlanor) yelling at her, she merely knocked the girl out. After that, they went back to surveying the crypt until they eventually found the clock's circles in a church.

"Great job, team!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I did all the work, here!" Erika said.

"I don't consider random beheadings 'work'."

"You're weird."

"Says the girl walking around in a school swimsuit..." Lucy said with a sweat drop.

"I'm not COMPLAINING," Dlanor said.

"...Huh?"

"Can we just get this out of here?" Jude asked. "We're all done here, so the last thing we need are intrusive random battles."

"DID SOMEBODY SAY 'INTRUSIVE RANDOM BATTLES'?!" A voice boomed. Everyone ran out of the church to see Byro Cracy atop Kanaloa, holding the clock hand.

"Oh, son of a bitch!" Happy exclaimed.

"Fairy Tail... and now, the government... it's one thing to interfere in our holy crusade, but to kill one of comrades...!" Everyone(sans Dlanor) threw an angry look towards Erika. "This is unforgivable! For the sake of our crusade, of our justice, I shall not let this stand!" Dlanor's eye twitched a bit at the word "justice", but only Erika seemed to notice.

"Yeah, about that..." Natsu started, "you mind telling us why the heck you want the Infinity Clock? We all know how dangerous it is, so there better be a good reason for your actions!"

"Oh, there's a reason, alright. An _alien _reason."

"...What?"

"It all began 75 million years ago. Back then, there was a Galactic Federation of Planets, which was ruled over by the evil Lord Xenu. Xenu thought his galaxy was overpopulated, so he rounded up countless aliens from all different planets... and had them frozen." This is what Zentopia actually believes. "Xenu had the frozen aliens loaded onto his Galactic Cruisers, which looked like airships, only with rocket engines." This is what Zentopia actually believes. "The Cruisers took the frozen bodies to our planet, Earth Land, and dumped them into a volcano. The aliens were dead, but their souls lived on and floated up towards the sky, but the evil Lord Xenu had prepared for this! Xenu didn't want the souls to return, so he built giant Soul Catchers in the sky! The souls were taken to a big Soul Brainwashing facility, which Xenu had also built on Earth Land." This is what Zentopia actually believes. "The souls were forced to watch days of brainwashing material, which tricked them into believing in a false reality. Xenu then released the souls, all of them wandering Earth Land aimlessly, having forgotten their reason for being there. The souls then attached themselves to all of mankind and all sentinoids which, still to this day, causes our fears, our confusions, and everything that makes life hard."

"..." was everyone's response, paired up with blank faces. Dlanor's, though, looked very angry, for some reason.

"This truth was discovered by the founder of our church, L. Ron Hubbard, and to this day, we still exist to spread his noble truth. Now, though, the Archbishop has told us that Xenu plans to invade Earth Land, extract the alien souls from our bodies, and turn them all into cans of Space Soup, which is like regular soup, only with rocket engines. The only hope our planet has of surviving is the Infinity Clock, for its strength is the only guarantee of Xenu's permanent destruction! Now that you know of our holy mission, our justice, will you stop getting in our way?"

"...I have one question," Natsu said.

"? What is it?"

"...Can I buy some pot from you?"

"What? Why?"

"I think that I need to be super high in order for any of that to make sense."

"?! How _dare _you insult the genius of L. Ron Hubbard! The justice of Zentopia! The genius of our justice!"

"...What kind of justice is THIS?" This wasn't Natsu talking; this was Dlanor, looking angrier than Natsu had ever seen. "All you're doing is following some stupid science fiction story... and you claim to have justice on your SIDE?! It'd be funny if it was a _good _story, but something as stupid as that wouldn't even get a single favorite on , and most of the people who go there have no idea what good writing actually IS!"

_I feel like people aren't gonna like that last part..._ Natsu thought. As he did, Dlanor summoned her longsword and pointed it at Byro Cracy.

"I shall be your OPPONENT! Come down and face me with your 'JUSTICE'!"

"Hmph! I have no time for you, little girl!" Byro Cracy yelled. "Kanaloa! Destroy this sinner with your corrosive ink!" The giant octopus made an animal cry before firing a giant blast of ink at Dlanor.

"'Corrosive ink'? ...Hmph! **I won't allow such a thing to EXIST!**" A red light shot out of Dlanor's body that made the inki disappear before it could even get close to her.

"What?!"

"Knox's 4th: No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the END. There's no such thing as corrosive ink in this world to my knowledge, so an attack like that will have no EFFECT!" She then raised an eyebrow and gained a cat smile. "Unless, of course, you can explain how that's POSSIBLE."

"Gh...!"

"Just as I THOUGHT." Dlanor then materialized her blue short sword and threw it tip first straight through Kanaloa, knocking him unconscious, if not killing him.

"...I'm mad, now," Byro Cracy said, jumping off of Kanaloa and coming face-to-face with Dlanor. The two warrior just stood there, neither moving an inch. Finally, Dlanor made the first strike, swinging her blade straight at her enemy's head, only to see it vanish before it could make contact.

"?!"

"Nullification magic?!" Erika exclaimed. Before any sort of response could be made to that, Byro Cracy punched Dlanor in the gut and sent her flying into an old building. "Dlanor!" Everyone ran to where she landed and were treated to seeing a girl coughing up a tremendous amount of blood. "Dlanor!" If that wasn't surprising enough, Dlanor actually managed to stand up after all of that damage.

"...I'm... FINE..."

"Dlanor..."

"I'M FINE!"

"Repeat it in bold: 'I am fine,'" Natsu said to her.

"...TCH!" Ignoring Natsu, Dlanor started walking back towards Byro Cracy.

"Hey!"

"Stay out of THIS. I will protect justice, even at the cost of my LIFE!"

"..." Natsu... everyone wanted to say something, but no one could form the right words for their thought, so they all just stood and watched her walk weakly away.

"Shouldn't we do something?!" Michelle asked.

"...No," Erika managed to say.

"But she can't fight like that!"

"I know..."

"Aren't you and Dlanor friends, Erika-san?!"

"...Yes. And it's because of that that I know why we can't stop her. Her commitment to justice... is just too strong..."

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked.

"...Eiserne Jungfrau was created by Dlanor's father, Ronald A. Knox. He designed it to be a strict organization that would always uphold the law. People always called Ronald harsh and difficult, but he got the job done and earned everyone's respect, especially Dlanor's. All she ever wanted to do was make him proud and enforce his beliefs, so she joined Eiserne Jungfrau at a young age to do just that. However, all of it became a cruel amount of irony when... when..."

"When what?"

"When she was forced to kill her father." No one could believe what Erika just said. "Apparently he had broken a big law of some sort. I don't remember what, but it was grounds for execution. And, as Eiserne Jungfrau dictates, if a Head Inquisitor of Heresy is sentenced to death, one of the other members must perform the deed. And, of _course_, Dlanor was picked."

"Hey, this story..." Lucy started, "I think I've heard of it... but... didn't it happen a long time ago?"

"Yes. Thirty years, this summer."

"What?! But Dlanor looks-"

"With his last bit of strength, Dlanor's father cursed her with eternal youth. For years, we've had our best curse breakers try and cure her, but nothing has worked."

"_Adulthood is a privilege... that I am barred FROM..." _Those words Dlanor said to Natsu back in January that made no sense then suddenly had incredible meaning.

"I think that Dlanor... sees her curse as a sign that she can't stray from her path. She feels that it happened because there was doubt in her heart about whether or not there was justice in killing her father, so she has to defend it with all of her strength. But... but..." Everyone turned to see Erika on the verge of tears, "that's stupid, isn't it? Just by realizing the stupidity of it, this level of reasoning is possible... for Erika Furudo. What do you think... everyone...?"

"...Yeah, it's really stupid."

* * *

Back with Dlanor, the girl had finally managed to limp back over to Byro Cracy.

"So, you still wish to challenge me, eh?" The old man asked. "So be it! Go ahead and defy me, but when Xenu comes, you'll all be wishing you believed us!" He lifted his staff to swing it at Dlanor, but suddenly thrusted it forward instead to nullify what was apparently a blast of fire. "...So... you choose to exude blasphemy, as well, eh, Natsu?"

"..." was Natsu's response. "If it's blasphemous to want to help a friend, then so be it!"

"'Friend'? Last time _I _checked, Fairy Tail and the government mixed together like water and oil."

"That's in the past! Now, people there are my friends, our friends, and you won't hurt them!"

"Stay... out of THIS...!" Dlanor said. "I'm protecting... my JUSTICE...!"

"How does dying do anything to protect it?! All it does is make those who care about you sad!" Natsu then pointed at Erika, her face filled to the brim with melancholy.

_Mein Führer..._

"If you want to defend your beliefs, fine, but you don't need to get crazy about it! You didn't follow all of your beliefs when you didn't kill that guy back in January, right?! Do the same here, and don't throw your life away for a concept! Especially if it's just because it's being compared to this guy's stupid shit!"

"'Stupid shit'?!" Byro Cracy yelled. "That is the last straw!" A giant, purple arrow formed in Byro Cracy's hands. "You sinners are no better than Xenu, himself! I shall destroy you all! Divine Arrow!" Byro Cracy threw the arrow towards the group to kill them all, but out of nowhere, a ball of energy collided with the tip of the arrow that sent it off course. "?!"

"Looks like my Resshū Kō Kyū Ha(Fissure Kick Crimson Ball Wave) had enough power to deflect it."

"Nice job, Sensui! Or are you Minoru, right now?"

"Do I _want _to know what you're talking about?" Confused by everything that was happening, Natsu and the others turned to see all of the teams assembled around them(though Mira's team was only Gertrude), along with respective clock parts.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Natsu yelled. "You were supposed to take your clock parts and hide them somewhere!"

"We were doing that, but somehow, we all ended up here," Gray said. "It's like someone trapped us in an illusion, or something..."

"...We can worry about that later!" Natsu grabbed Dlanor by the arm and threw her towards Erika, who managed to catch her in her arms. "Wendy, go heal Dlanor!" The girl nodded and ran over to her.

"...I'm sorry for being so STUPID..." Dlanor said to Erika.

"It's alright," Erika said. "I'm smart, so if you just stay by my side, you can be a little dumb." Dlanor chuckled at this.

"Impudent whelps!" Byro Cracy yelled. "If it's a fight you want, then I'll take you all on, at once! For the sake of defeating Xenu, I will not lose to you lot!"

"Who's Xenu?" Gajeel asked.

"Don't ask..." Natsu said with a sweat drop.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked," Byro Cracy said, making Natsu facepalm. "It all began 75 million years-" However, Byro Cracy never finished retelling his stupid story, as at that moment, all of the clock parts started glowing and flew into the air, coming together to form the Infinity Clock.

"Dammit, we were trying to have this _not _happen!" Then, even more surprising, music started playing. Specifically, it was the song _Golden Nocturne _by Luck Ganriki. The music seemed to be coming from near the clock, so everyone turned towards it to see seven people that weren't there before.

Two of them were already known: Frederica Bernkastel, whom Wendy and Erika looked at quizzically, and Eva-Beatrice, whom Erza and Meredy looked at angrily. Next to Bernkastel was Lambdadelta, the Witch of Certainty.

Near those three was a woman with long, silverish gray hair wearing a black dress and hat, the latter of which was adorned with dark red flowers; slung over the dress diagonally was an orange sash with the same bird that was atop Eva-Beatrice's on it. She also appeared to be smiling and kept her eyes shut.

The fifth was a tall woman with long, purple hair, pinkish opera gloves, and a pinkish dress that only went from her chest down. In her left hand was a brown staff, slung over her left shoulder was some sort of green cloth with a medallion on it, and floating around her head was a crescent moon-shaped object. For some reason, she seemed to be looking at Natsu, and he her.

The last female in the group was a Western-style woman with ginger-blonde hair done up in a bun and blue eyes. She wore a bow adorned with a rose in her hair, a choker, and ballgown-like dress adorned with multiple copies of the same bird that sat atop Eva-Beatrice's staff. Also, she seemed to be staring at everyone with a truly demented look.

The last person amongst these seven stood at the very front and was the only male in the group. He was very tall and muscular and appeared as a young man with spiky, auburn hair and brown eyes. He wore a khaki suit with the same one-winged bird, and a large, black cape over that.

"So, you guys want to start fighting and didn't invite _us_, the Bloody Gulls?!" The man yelled. "Ihihihi! That's useless! It's all useless!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: To those of you familiar with **_**Umineko**_**(which I assume is no one besides me), you know who these people are. And if you know who they are(again, I think I'm alone here), you know that there's gonna be some royal fucking coming up soon, and the main characters might not be doing the penetrating.**

**Pie: Are we allowed to say this?**

**Fox: Beats me. **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	62. The Witches' Game

**Pie: Mind if I ask you some questions, Fox?**

**Fox: Go ahead.**

**Pie: Well, it's basically established that this is a Crossover between **_**Fairy Tail, Rave Master, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, **_**the **_**When They Cry **_**series, and **_**Animal Land, **_**right?**

**Fox: Yeah. So what?**

**Pie: Well, there's nothing really "wrong" with that, but a bunch of the characters have actually referenced those series in this story(except **_**Animal Land**_**), which doesn't make sense. How do you explain that?**

**Fox:*Waves hand* Just 'cause.**

**Pie: ...Not good enough.**

**Fox: Clever pastry. But really, though, just assume they're Mutually Fictional. Glad that's settled, both with you, and any Tropers reading this story. Anyway, let's start the chapter(P.S. When a song is being said to be played, start it up on Youtube to get the full experience)!**

**Pie: You should at least change the disclaimer.**

**Fox: Fine... **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

"'Bloody Gulls'?" was asked by Chairman Absoliutus Teisingumas to Lahar in the Magic Council's meeting room. "Those are the guys behind the church attacks?"

"Yes," Lahar responded. "They're a Dark Guild that's very powerful, but has been laying low for several centuries."

"They're that old?"

"Yes. What's even weirder is that we believe most of the members, if not all of them, to have been around since its founding. They all call themselves 'witches', and it's to our belief that that means they've gone through some sort of ritual to attain eternal youth."

"..."

"Something on your mind, sir? Wait, something appropriate for children, I mean."

"For once, yes. These guys have eternal youth, and they've barely done anything since they came into existence... so what do they have to gain from this...?"

* * *

Back in the crypt, everyone stared in shock at what just happened.

"Bloody Gulls..." Lucy said. "Just who are these guys supposed to be, Natsu?" She waited for a response, but no such thing happened. "Natsu?"

"Huh?" He asked, finally able to take his attention away from the woman in pink.

"Never mind..."

"Good job gathering all the clock pieces," the male in Bloody Gulls said. "We could've done it ourselves, but it's much more satisfactory to have the pieces move for you on the chessboard!"

"YES~! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!~!" The blonde woman said in gratuitous English. "Not only that, but we really must thank you for falling under my illusion; all of you moving the pieces somewhere else would've been really annoying."

"We were under an illusion?!" Jellal exclaimed. "How could you, Erza?!"

"...What are you talking about?!" Erza yelled. "I didn't do a single thing!"

"But didn't you just say that-"

"That was _her _talking!"

"Oh... you two sound exactly alike."

"Huh. There _is_ some similarity, Beatrice," the male said.

"You're right, Battler," Beatrice said with a devious look. "Hey, Jellal, how about later tonight, we go to a love hotel so I can *** your **** while you ******** with a ****** and **** while you clean things up and *****************?" Most of the men got massive nosebleeds from hearing this.

"Erza! How can you say such lewd things around people?!" Jellal yelled.

"It wasn't me!" Erza yelled.

"Ku~kukukukuku!" Beatrice laughed. "It's so much fun messing with humans!"

"Can you do it later, though?" The silver-haired woman asked. "We're here on serious business, you know."

"Virgilia's right," Battler said. "Let's do what we came here for!" The seven members of Bloody Gulls each raised a hand as the Infinity Clock became bathed in a golden light.

_Don't you think we should do something? _Lucy asked everyone with Telepathy.

_No! _Natsu responded. _We don't know what these guys are capable of, so we need to wait for the right moment to act. Everyone agreed? _Natsu got mental confirmations from everyone before the Telepathy got cut off. _Not only that... but that woman... there's something about her that makes me really curious..._ As Natsu thought this, the golden light faded, and the one-winged bird that was seen on most of them appeared in various places on the Clock, it evidently being their guild's blazon.

"There," Battler said. "Now it belongs to us."

"Like hell!" Byro Cracy yelled. "The Infinity Clock belongs to Zentopia! We need it to stop Xenu from extracting our alien souls and turning them into cans of Space Soup!" Dlanor drew her blade to strike down his stupidity, but Erika quickly made her put it away.

"Is this guy for real?!" Lambdadelta asked. "What an idiot!" A bucket of caramel popcorn appeared in her hands as she proceeded to munch on it. "A stupid, stupid idiot! Want me to say how stupid he is in Bold, Bern?"

"Don't bother," Bernkastel said.

"The frog in the well was happy.

It wasn't interested what was outside the well.

The frog in the well was happy.

It was recluse to anything that happened outside the well.

And you were happy.

Because you didn't know what occurred outside the well."

"...?" was the response given by everyone's faces.

"Kukukuku!" Eva-Beatrice snickered. "What wonderful poetry, Lady Bernkastel!"

"Seems like our audience didn't appreciate it, though," Battler said.

"Yes," Bernkastel said with a malicious grin. "That's not very nice, though. We should teach them some manners, don't you think?" The Witch of Miracles probably would've done something right then and there, but she didn't expect her tail to suddenly be grabbed, her body to be suddenly spun around, and her lover Lambdadelta to suddenly bring her into a kiss.

"WHAT?!" Lucy shouted.

"YEAAAAAH!" All of the men(sans Jellal and including Wendy) shouted.

"...What the hell was that, Lambda?" Bernkastel asked, breaking away from the kiss.

"Come on, Bern!" She exclaimed with a smirk. "You know what your poetry does to me."

"You claim that everything I do does 'that' to you. Last week, you claimed that 'that' happened because you saw me clip my toenails."

"Excuuuuse me for being so easily turned on." Lambda put another kiss on Bern's lips, but she quickly moved away.

"Lambda, stop." Ignoring her, she planted another kiss. "We're in the middle of something." Ignoring her, she planted another kiss. "There's no time for-" Ignoring her, she planted another kiss. "ENOUGH!"

"Fine~. I guess I'll just... leave you alone then." Lambdadelta then started walking towards the front. _3, 2, 1. _The Witch of Miracles grabbed the Witch of Certainty's arm, spun her around, and the two started to make-out.

"I think _now _is the right moment to act," Lucy said with a sweat drop.

"NO, IT ISN'T!" Everyone who shouted before shouted.

"Lucy, a wonderful thing is happening right now! Don't ruin it!" Natsu said.

"Yeah!" Jude exclaimed, much to Lucy and Michelle's disbelief.

"Yeah!" Wendy exclaimed, much to Carla and Meredy's annoyance(though not so much Meredy's).

"Okay, that's enough!" Bernkastel said, pulling away from Lambdadelta with a face full of blush. "I can handle the impromptu make-out session, but that caramel taste in your mouth is pissing me off!"

"How rude!" Lambda said. "But if you don't like me eating sweet things, then maybe I should cut you open and dine a bit on your intestines."

"That'd be hard for you to do after I rip your brain out of your thick skull, slice it up, and use it for yakiniku."

_What's wrong with these people?!_ Lucy thought.

"Though, to honor your death, I'll allow myself to suffer a bit and use my bare hands to eat, despite the obvious burns that will happen."

"That's no good! If you're eating yakiniku, you have to use chopsticks! In fact, if you're eating _anything_, you have to use chopsticks, for chopsticks are the greatest utensils ever made!"

"...Mein Führer... that doesn't seem very appropriate, given the SITUATION..." Dlanor told Erika with a sweat drop. _Then again, nothing that's happened in the last few minutes has been APPROPRIATE..._ She then noticed that silence had returned as their enemies stared at Erika.

"? Is there something on my face?"

"Who's that girl over there?" Battler asked. "She looks just like Bernkastel. Identical Stranger, maybe?"

_! They don't know who Erika is? _Natsu thought. _So Erza was wrong about these guys being traitors! But then..._ Natsu turned towards Bernkastel, who looked extremely angry, for some reason, _why does that girl look so mad?!_

"Bern? Are you alright?" Lambda asked.

"...That hair..." She started to say. "...That face... It's just like... just like..." As she talked, a single word sounded through her mind with the annoyingness of an alarm clock: "Nipah~!"

Before anyone realised it, Frederica Bernkastel had gotten right in front of Erika and said, with a twisted look, "As if I'll lose to you!" She then summoned a small crystal and smashed it against the ground, creating a bright light. When it vanished, everyone who wasn't in Fairy Tail had vanished from the crypt.

"Hey! What did you do to everyone?!" Lucy yelled.

"Relax, relax," Battler said. "They're still alive, they've just been teleported away from here. Fairy Tail's the only opponent we want right now. Glad to see that you remembered that, Bernkastel." Upon being mentioned, the Witch of Miracles regained her composure and put on her regular cold face.

"Of course," she said. "Now isn't the time to let personal affairs be a distraction. Now is the time for action." As soon as she said that, music once again started playing from nowhere.

"Yay! I love it when the BGM is _miragecoordinator_!" Lambdadelta shouted.

"What do you mean, 'BGM'?" Lucy asked. "Music doesn't just start playing when something happens!"

"If you're done hanging lampshades, get ready to eat this!" A cookie appeared in Lambda's hand that she threw towards Lucy and her family with incredible speed. None of them were sure what was with the cookie, but they figured it out immediately when Gray summoned his Ice Make: Shield to stop it from making contact and it then exploded. "That's no fun!"

"If you want fun, then go somewhere else!" Gray shouted as he got into position for a spell. "Ice Make-"

"'Freeze Lancer', right?" Battler asked. A weird sensation flew through Gray's body, and he suddenly found himself unable to cast the spell.

_What?!_ As he pondered this, Battler appeared right in front of him and gave a quick jab to the face that sent Gray flying.

"That's what happens when you 'flip the chessboard'!"

"Gray!" Lucy shouted.

"Battler~!" Erza shouted, Requipping into her Flame Empress armor and sending a blast of fire at Battler. "I'll burn you to a crisp and serve you up on a silver platter!" Before the fire could connect, though, Battler summoned a golden longsword with a shape similar to Dlanor's longsword and spun it in a circular fashion, completely blocking the attack.

"Sounds tasty," Battler said with a smirk. "While you're at it, how 'bout you slice me up some of those cow titties and make me a sandwich?"

"Oh, Battler! I, Erza Scarlet, would _love_ to slice up some of my cow titties and make you a sandwich!"

"ERZA!" Jellal shouted.

"That wasn't me!" Erza yelled. "It was Beatrice!"

"No, _that _was Beatrice!" The ginger blonde said, barely moving her mouth.

"I don't know what to believe~!" Jellal cried, falling to his knees while clutching his head.

"Dammit! You're going down, Beatrice!" Erza lunged at Beatrice with her sword, but Beatrice summoned a golden kiseru and blocked it with a wall of golden smoke that somehow had solidity.

"Hoh~? You think you're a match for Beatrice, the Endless and Golden Witch?!" A red barrier formed around Beatrice that pushed Erza away. "Like hell you are, Erza Scarleeeeeeeeet~! UHYAHAHAHAHAHA!" As Beatrice laughed her evil laugh, she suddenly stopped and looked to her right. "I am _not _being too mean, Shannon; I'm being the perfect amount of mean, so shut up."

"_Shannon"? _Erza then saw Beatrice look towards the right.

"I'll be as rude to her as I want to your sister, Kanon!"

"_Kanon"? _"Um... who are you talking to?"

"Shannon and Kanon, two of my personal pieces of furniture. Why?"

_Imaginary friends? At her age? _"Well..." Erza was suddenly covered in a cloud of golden butterflies, hoisted up into the air by them, and thrown into the side of an old building.

"That'll teach you to get distracted! ...That was _not _in bad taste, Shannon; she had it coming."

"Erza!" Meredy shouted, running over to her. Before she even got halfway towards her, though, Eva-Beatrice appeared and delivered a kick to her jaw.

"Good afternoon, Meredy," she said. "Still alive, I see."

"No thanks to you," Meredy said as she spat out some blood.

"Is that right? Well then, how about I-" She then stopped as smoke from Beatrice's kiseru wafted in front of her face. "Hey! Predecessor! Don't smoke when I'm around! You know I hate that stuff!"

_She's distracted! _Meredy summoned up a magic blade. _Now's my chance to get in one good strike and- _Suddenly, out of nowhere, the memory of Wendy from when she first donned the Jiggle Butt Gang outfit resurfaced.

"_Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all! Nothing at all! NOTHING AT ALL!"_

"AAAAAGHHG!"

"Oh, I forgot about you, for a second," Eva-Beatrice said. She then pointed her staff at Meredy and summoned a spider web beneath her feet that immediately wrapped itself around the girl's body. "Why don't you just give up and die?!" Using some sort of Telekinesis, Eva-Beatrice lifted Meredy up into the air and spun her around a bit before throwing her to the ground.

_...Stupid sexy Wendy... _The girl being mentioned was currently in the midst of some sort of staring contest with Frederica Bernkastel.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Wendy?" Bernkastel asked.

"...Are you really trying to do something evil, Bernkastel-san?" Wendy asked.

"What, do you think it impossible after I helped save your life? I only did that out of boredom; you know nothing of my true, disgusting nature."

"..."

"We should get away from her, Wendy!" Carla said. "I don't really know how she helped you, but this girl is bad news!"

"'Bad news'?" Bernkastel repeated. "No, bad news is hearing about a bus crash that killed all twenty-one people on board. When you think of me, you think of the person who cut the brakes and caused the crash to begin with." Bernkastel then snapped her fingers. As soon as she did, a growling noise became audible from behind Wendy and Carla. They both turned to see green lights in pairs suddenly in their shadows. However, those weren't lights. They were eyes. Eyes of cats. Cats that soon jumped out of the shadows and tackled each of them to the ground. "Is this all you can manage, Wendy? I must say, this is quite boring." The Witch then got a malicious sneer. "Do I look like the kind of person who enjoys boredom?"

It had become apparent that Fairy Tail was fighting a losing battle as the Bloody Gulls were dominating against their strongest fighters. Well, not _all _of them, anyway, as one mage was just standing around with a confused look on his face.

_What the hell is wrong with me?! _Natsu thought. _I should be fighting right now, but I can't get myself to do anything! Why?!_ Natsu then turned towards the woman in pink, now sitting in a rocking chair while drinking a cup of tea, both of which came from nowhere, while silently watching the fight. _That woman... I've been feeling weird ever since I saw her; if I was a stupider man, I'd think I was in love, but that's not the case at all. Who is that person?!_ Knowing that he had to learn the answer to this, Natsu quickly made his way to the woman. He figured that she would've tried to attack him, but she just stayed focused on the fight, as if she was _allowing _him to come. Though this might've been true, when Natsu got over to her, she didn't even turn her head to look at him.

"...It took longer for you to get here than I would have imagined, child of man," the woman said.

"'Child of man'?"

"Don't think too much of it; that's simply how I address all humans."

"Aren't _you _human, though?"

"Hardly. I, and the rest of this guild, are 'witches'."

"Even that Battler guy?"

"The true meaning of the word 'witch' is more than an archaic term for a female who can use magic. A true witch is a person who has been able to transcend the limits of humanity and attain power the likes of which one can usually only dream of. That, Natsu Dragneel, is the kind of witches the seven of us are."

"...Hey..."

"You probably wish to know my name. I am Featherine Augustus Aurora, the Witch of Theatergoing, Drama, and Spectating."

"...Featherine, what do you guys want, exactly? From your description of witches, it sounds like you have good lives, so what use is the Infinity Clock to you?"

"Perhaps _this _will answer your questions." A screen reminiscent of the ones made with Archive appeared in front of Natsu.

_Is she really going to show me what they_

_NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP!_

"?!"

"Fufufufu! You should see the look on your face!"

"I'm being serious here! What the hell do you guys want?! Why are you trying to mess with us?! Why... why do I feel so weird around you?!"

"..." Featherine stood up and turned to Natsu. "Are those _really _the questions you want answered? Are you sure that there aren't other things you want to know about... like... Zeref?"

"?!"

"Or Mavis?"

"?!"

"Or your connection to them?"

"?!"

"Or, perhaps, the horrible things you did to them?"

"?! ?! ?!" _...Wh...at...? She... she knows our connection...? And did... did she say I... I did horrible things to Zeref and Mavis...?_ "...What do you-"

KRASH!

Natsu was cut off as Gajeel's unconscious body flew into the wall behind him.

"It looks like Virgilia made quick work of that child of man," Featherine remarked. Natsu then looked towards the battlefield to see Virgilia looking triumphant. "It looks like she's going to do a big one, as well."

"'Big one'?" Natsu parroted. "What do you-"

"FUS RO DAH!" Virgilia shouted as a blue wave of energy shot out of her body that blasted everyone except her companions and Natsu, damaging them heavily.

"As expected of my teacher!" Beatrice said, taking another smoke from her kiseru.

"What did I say about that?!" Eva-Beatrice yelled.

_These guys... they're completely dominating, and it's almost as if they're just messing around! _Natsu thought. _I have to do something! _Natsu quickly ignited his fist with the intention of attacking Featherine. "Karyū no-"

"'Tekken', right?" was asked by Battler, appearing behind Natsu from nowhere. As soon as he said this, the flame vanished, and Natsu could barely move his arm.

"?!"

"Why don't you go join your friends?!" Battler's leg became covered in a blue light, and said leg was used to kick Natsu all the way to the ground.

"Nice one, honey!" Beatrice cheered.

"Thanks, Beato!" Battler yelled back to her. "Well, I think that this little prologue to the game is just about over."

"'Prologue to the game'?" Lucy asked as she and the others struggled to get to their feet.

"That's right!" Beatrice exclaimed. "We of Bloody Gulls are going to play a little game with you all! If you defeat us all, or at least just my husband, we'll stop our plot. However, if we defeat all of you in Fairy Tail who dare oppose us, then it's our victory! And you can bet that our win shall be a beautiful, blood-drenched one!"

"What a twisted 'game'..." Erza remarked.

"I know, right?! IT'S PAAFEKKTO! UHYAHAHAHA! ...I don't need to tone it down, Shannon! You shut up, too, Kanon!"

"?"

"Anyway, now that you know the rules, we're going to leave to prepare, and I suggest you do the same," Battler said. "Bernkastel, Lambdadelta, you know what to do." The two lesbian witches each raised a hand and formed a ball of light, blue for Bernkastel, red for Lambdadelta.

"SEIZURE PROCEDURE!" They both yelled. The two of them then threw the balls in the air and allowed them to collide, forming a spinning disc of multiple, flashing colors. Everyone was dumbfounded, at first, but then they all started twitching, their mouths started to foam, and then they all collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

_Dammit...! _Natsu thought before his consciousness faded as he saw the witches vanish along with the Infinity Clock. _What the hell... is going on here..._ Natsu was now fully unconscious, the only voices that could possibly be heard being the ones in his dreams. Speaking of that...

_...Why?!_

_?! ...Mavis...?_

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I... I wasn't the only one who read the newest chapter, right?**

**Pie: Obviously. Didn't you notice the dozens of Gruvia fics written since yesterday that all have "Spoilers for chapter 334" in the summary? It doesn't go unnoticed when a main character of a popular series dies.**

**Fox: Well let's just see if Mashima has the balls to kill Gray for real. Knowing him, though, he'll probably troll us the same way Kubo did with Byakuya.**

**Pie: That seems very likely.**

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	63. Chase the Infinity Clock!

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release.**

* * *

The day, unknown. The location, unknown. The year, unknown. What _is _known about the scene, however, is what can be seen. What can be seen is a building, the structure of which is not important. Up against the wall is a crying Mavis Vermillion, and in front of her are Natsu and Zeref, both either in their late teens or early adult years. Zeref wore a face of pure rage, while Natsu's face, despite anger being evident, seemed more passive than Zeref's.

"That bastard...!" Zeref said. "How could Shagorra do this?! I'll kill him! I'll kill him right now!"

"Settle down, Zeref!" Natsu shouted.

"'Settle down'?! How am I supposed to when Mavis has been **** by ******?!" For some reason, several words have been left inaudible.

"Because blind rage will accomplish nothing! We need to be rational about this!"

"You...!"

"...Hey... what should I do with my life now?" Mavis asked through her crying, catching both of their attention. "Am I still fit to be a woman after this...? Am I still fit... to be a living being... after this...?!"

"..."

"I don't... understand! Why did this have to happen to me?! I loved that man! I never did anything to him! So why did he have to ******?! ...Why?!" Out of nowhere, cracks in the air appear like static on a television screen. When they fade, the scene is completely new. Natsu and Zeref are staring each other down atop a castle, the ground below is covered in fire, and the only sounds that can be heard are the screams of humans and the roars of Dragons.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Zeref," Natsu said.

"It's too late for that," Zeref said. "Today, humanity shall fall, and all of Earth Land shall shatter alongside it."

"Do you honestly think this is a good thing?! That this is something Mavis would want?!"

"! ...Don't you... DON'T YOU _DARE _SPEAK OF HER IN SUCH A WAY! I MAY HAVE KILLED HER, BUT HER DEATH IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

* * *

Natsu's eyes suddenly shot open.

_A dream...? _He thought. _Or... a memory...? ...If I had to guess, it'd be the latter._

_That "Shagorra" guy... the Wizard Saint Klaus mentioned him, so that must mean he exists in this time period. But then... how was he around back then. How was _I _around back then? How was _Mavis _around back then, 'cause I don't think Fairy Tail is 400 years old! And... did I really cause her to die?_ As Natsu pondered this, he felt something touch his cheek. Something cold. He turned to see that it was an ice cream cone being held by Dlanor.

"I see that you are awake, _Mr. _Natsu," Dlanor said.

"Dlanor..."

"..."

"...Do you want me to eat that?"

"YES. Do you not want IT?"

"No, not-" Dlanor then ate it in one gulp. "Okaaay... where are we, exactly?"

"We are on an official government airship, currently parked outside of MAGNOLIA. That 'Bernkastel' woman teleported us all to the outside, so Mein Führer immediately called for a ship."

"That's right!" Erika shouted, jumping into the scene out of nowhere, dressed once more in her usual outfit. "Simply by seeing the danger we were in, that level of reasoning was possible for Erika Furudo! What do you think, everyone?" Dlanor started clapping, and, after nudging Natsu, he applauded Erika, as well.

"Speaking of 'everyone'," Natsu began as he started looking around the ship, "how come it's just the three of us? Also, what happened to the Zentopia guys?"

"They all left before the ship came. Also, you were out the longest out of everyone, so I told your friends to just head back to the guild while you slept. I also told Gertrude, Cornelia, and Faule to go back to headquarters and give a report on what happened."

"..."

"What?"

"There's another reason for this, isn't there?"

"...How perceptive, Natsu-san."

"We believe that someone in our group may be a MOLE," Dlanor said.

"You do?" Natsu asked.

"The members of Bloody Gulls got all of the teams there by trapping them in an illusion that eventually brought them to the crypt we were IN. Even though they say that they knew where the parts of the Infinity Clock were and that they let us get them for them, that doesn't mean they would know that we weren't planning on bringing them TOGETHER. They aren't omnipotent, so they couldn't have known that we knew the true nature of the Infinity Clock unless someone told THEM."

"So, based on that, you think that someone in our group sold us out by telling them that we were going to hide the parts?" Dlanor nodded. "That makes sense. And since we're on the matter, if anyone looks suspicious here, it's you guys from Sen'ya Ichiya. I mean, you _do _look alot like that Bernkastel girl."

"That does warrant some suspicion, I suppose," Erika said. "However, allow me to debunk that with Bold. **I, Erika Furudo, have never had any form of contact with Bernkastel, nor has any member of Sen'ya Ichiya that came on this mission.** And since we're throwing around the blame baton, that Wendy girl seems a little suspicious here, since she was the first person to actually mention Bernkastel."

"..."

"If I'm wrong, then repeat it in Bold: 'Wendy Marvell is not a traitor'."

"...**Wendy Marvell is not a traitor.**"

"...Well, there goes my theory."

"Hold on, how would I have even known that? Are you saying I'm suspicious, as well?"

"No, no, no. The Bold Truth is the absolute truth, so even if the speaker didn't know if what was being said was true, it would still work. When what someone's trying to say with it is a lie, though, the speaker starts to choke. I was hoping that would happen when you were saying **Wendy Marvell is not a traitor**, but it didn't, so now I'm back to square one."

_She would've let me choke? _"Why don't we just try that last truth with everyone else's names to find the mole?"

"That wouldn't WORK," Dlanor said. "That is merely guessing, so neither the Bold Truth nor the Underlined Truth would be APPLICABLE."

"I see... well, in any case, I think I might have an idea on who the real mole is."

"Really? _Do _enlighten us, Natsu-san," Erika said with a smirk.

* * *

Elsewhere, in an unknown location, the members of Bloody Gulls were all gathered around the Infinity Clock, except for the two shortest members. While Bernkastel and Lambdadelta were _initially _absent, they appeared as soon as the others began to wonder where they were.

"Hello~!" Lambdadelta exclaimed.

"What took you so long?" Battler asked. "You couldn't have had _that _much difficulty with the churches."

"Sorry," Bernkastel apologized. "We finished that in about a minute, but the sight of all of that blood got me very aroused, so Lambda decided that the two of us should play a game of 'Fireman Rescues Girl from Burning Building and then Proceeds to have Sex with Her'."

"Wow... that gets right to the point, doesn't it?" Bern and Lambda nodded their heads. "Anyway, now that the seven of us-"

"AHEM!" was coughed by Beatrice.

"Sorry, _eleven _of us are here, it's time to move into phase 2: using Anti-Link on Will Neville's disciples, and that 'other person'. Virgilia, how many people does that end up being?"

"If my intelligence is correct, eight. With all of us together, in addition to Zentopia's 'assistance', it'll be done very soon."

"Kuukuku," Eva-Beatrice laughed. "I forgot that that Lapointe guy is one of our pieces. I wonder what he's doing now..." Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom, which is Zentopia...

* * *

"Legion Corps, meet your new member, Guttman Kubrick," Lapointe said, pointing to the sentinoid at his left.

"Oh, I get it!" Earth Land Coco said. "His head is a big cube, so his name is 'Kubrick'! That's funny!"

"Right..." Byro Cracy said. "Are you sure we should be letting him out of jail?"

"It is what the Archbishop commands," Lapointe said.

"Can I go talk to him about this?"

"No! He only talks to me right now! And... he doesn't like you. ...Because you smell. ...You're a smelly, smelly man..."

"...Ok..."

* * *

"Alright, so let's all split up in half an hour and get this done," Battler said. "Remember, though, Fairy Tail's probably gonna find out where we are, so be careful, as we won't know who'll be where."

"Oh, I think we might find out who's going where before then," Bernkastel said.

"...Everyone, go do whatever it is you do," The other members of Bloody Gulls teleported away, leaving only Battler and Bernkastel. "You're up to something, aren't you?"

"Me? What would _ever _give you _that_ idea?" The girl asked with a giggle.

"Before, when you told us that Fairy Tail wouldn't be bringing the pieces of the Infinity Clock together, no one argued with you, so I didn't bring up my suspicions about it. Now, it looks like you'll be right again for no explained reason."

"Is that so odd? I _am _the Witch of Miracles, after all."

"But _your _miracles are ones that people have to work for to have happen; anything else is the result of someone messing around. ...Are _you _messing around with my Game, Bernkastel?"

"You don't trust me?"

"Not at all." Bern then got a malicious grin.

"Smart boy. There's no reason for anyone to trust me, and no reason for me to trust anyone... except Lambda, of course. I'm not going to tell you what I'm doing, but I will tell you this: **everything I'm doing is for the sake of our victory**."

"...Alright, then."

"Glad that's settled." Bernkastel then teleported away, leaving Battler alone, his cape flowing dramatically, despite a breeze not blowing through the area.

_I'm not gonna question your methods, Bernkastel... but please... just remember that it's a game..._

* * *

"That's some pretty serious information, Natsu-san," Erika said after Natsu finished explaining his theory on who the mole is. "Given that theory, it seems like it'd be best if you handled it, so Dlanor and I will leave to assist the fight elsewhere. In the meantime, you should go back to your friends."

"Right," Natsu said. "Thanks for-"

_CAT LOVES FOOD, YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH! CAT LOVES FOOD, YEAH YEAH!_

"Sorry, that's mine." Natsu quickly got off the ship to answer his Mini Communications Lacrima. As soon as he was gone, Erika slammed her fist into the wall with so much force that she made cracks in it.

"Natsu-saaaaan...! How _dare _you keep such information away from the intellectual rapist...! It wasn't bad enough that you humiliated me by helping Dlanor before I did... and that that crazy cat kid left me completely out of the action...!" Erika moved to slam her fist again, but Dlanor managed to stop her arm.

"It's alright, Mein... Erika..." Dlanor said.

"...I'm still the best, right?"

"Of COURSE."

"You'd never think anyone, especially Natsu-san, was better than me, right?"

"IMPOSSIBLE. I already think you're the best, so my opinion won't CHANGE. I am a kid, after ALL."

"GOOD," Erika said in gratuitous English. "I'm the best around, and nothing's gonna ever keep me down! I'll show them who reigns supreme, and I'll be the one who saves the day, for I am... the detective!"

* * *

In the Fairy Tail guild, everyone(which now included the Raijinshū) was in the midst of deciding their next course of action.

"Thanks to Cana's fortune telling, we know where each of those seven will strike, so now we just need to divide up the fighters again," Makarov said.

"It'd be ideal if we could just use the same teams, but now we have six places to go to, rather than five," Erza said. "Not only that, but with Sen'ya Ichiya having left, and Mira being put in a state unfit for combat, we need to completely reset the teams."

"How will we do that?" Jude asked.

"Well, it won't be that ridiculous amidakuji that was used before."

"What will it be, then?"

"Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock."

"...Okaaaay..." After several games, the teams ended up as the following:

Team 1: Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen.

Team 2: Erza, Jellal, and Wendy.

Team 3: Gajeel and Juvia.

Team 4: Elfman and Lisanna.

Team 5: Happy, Carla, Lily, and Meredy(Meredy gave a little pout when she saw that she and Wendy would be on different teams).

Team 6: Gray, Lucy, Jude, and Michelle.

_I'm on the same team as Lucy?! _Gray thought to himself. _Yes! Um... I mean... cool. _

"Oh, Natsu's not here, but when he shows up, tell him to go with Gray's team," Makarov told Erza, bumming Gray out as he subconsciously discarded his shirt. As soon as the shirt hit the ground, the door to the guild flew open as Natsu entered.

"Wendy, I need you to come!" Natsu shouted.

"HUH?" Multiple people asked.

"Natsu... what do you mean by 'come', exactly?" Jellal asked.

"Huh?" Natsu asked. "...No! Just... no!"

"Okay. You had me worried for a- wait, what do you mean by that? Is Wendy not good enough for you?!"

"Stop it! I didn't mean anything like that! I meant that I wanted Wendy to-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Natsu," Wendy said. "I knew this would happen eventually; my loli charms are just too irresistible for you." Wendy then laid her body on the floor as seductively as a 12-year-old girl with a small chest could. "Come. My body is ready."

" #$!&$!"

"NATSUUUUUU~~!" Jellal shouted as he began to power up Photon Stream before Makarov whacked him and Wendy on the head.

"STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS!" Makarov shouted. "NATSU OBVIOUSLY WANTS HER TO GO SOMEPLACE, NOT HAVE SEX!"

"Oh... right."

"I actually knew that all along; I just wanted to mess around," Wendy said with a giggle to her surrogate father.

"Well, then, maybe _I _should mess around with your allowance this week."

"Uguu~!"

"Can I _please _get to my point, already?!" Natsu yelled. _How the hell did _I, _Natsu Dragneel, become the voice of reason?! _"Before I came in here, Doranbolt called and said that they need Wendy at one of the churches."

"Me? Why?"

"Well, you know how all of those churches have been attacked lately? The Bloody Gulls were responsible, and the reason for it was that they were looking for the descendants of the disciples of Will Neville, the Celestial Spirit mage who originally sealed the Infinity Clock. Each disciple is a part of a chain of Organic Link magic that keeps the clock's true power sealed, but Bloody Gulls has developed a magic called 'Anti-Link', which has the ability to break this chain."

"How do I come into this, though?"

"Apparently, one of these disciples looks enough like you that you could take her place. so the plan is for you to go there and pretend to be her while Doranbolt gets the real disciple away from there."

"I don't know..."

"I'll buy you a Colossal Titan mask."

"Wish me luck, Jellal!" Wendy cheered as she ran out the door.

"Just go to the outskirts of town! Doranbolt should be there to teleport you!"

_Good luck, Wendy. Stay safe... _Jellal thought to himself.

* * *

"So they've split themselves into six teams," Bernkastel started. "Team 1 is Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, Team 2 is Erza and Jellal, Team 3 is Gajeel and Juvia, Team 4 is Elfman and Lisanna, Team 5 is the cats, of all things, and Meredy, and Team 6 is Natsu, Gray, Lucy, her father, and her 'cousin'. Keep in mind that where Team 3 is going is already covered by Zentopia before choosing your target."

"And I suppose that you won't tell us how you know this again?" Battler asked.

"Hey! Bern's not doing anything wrong, and she doesn't have to tell you everything!" Lambda shouted.

"I agree with with Lady Lambdadelta, Battler," Beatrice said. "Lady Bernkastel has no reason to do anything harmful to us, so we might as well trust her. Lion and Clair think so, too," Beatrice waved her arm to the right and identified... no one.

"...Whatever," Battler sighed. "Arguing about this is useless. It's all useless."

"That's right!" Lambda exclaimed. "Now that that's cleared up, I'll go to where Team 1 is heading! Those guys are all friends with Laxus Dreyar, so beating them all to a pulp in an adorable fashion will surely raise my popularity in time for me to rank high in the next poll! Kiss for good luck, Bern?"

"Over my dead body," she said, emotionlessly.

"That can be arranged," Lambda sneered before she vanished.

"I shall challenge Team 2," Beatrice said. "I still need to drive my power hard into Erza Scarlet. ...Clair, for the hundredth time, even if it works, no one says 'that's what he said', so stop doing that!" Beatrice turned into a dozen of golden butterflies and flew away.

"You can leave Team 4 to me," Virgilia said. "The younger Strausses weren't at the crypt, so I'm curious as to what their abilities are." With that, Virgilia teleported away.

"Team 5 is my target," Eva-Beatrice said. "I still need to show Meredy what it means to 'play' with an Endless Witch." Like her predecessor, Eva-Beatrice turned into golden butterflies and flew away.

"Well then... I guess I'm left to deal with Natsu and his children of man," Featherine said. Then, she was gone. There was no evidence of teleportation, no evidence of transformation; she was just... gone.

"I'll head to Kardia Cathedral and cast Anti-Link on Will Neville's corpse, you go to the last church and take care of the disciple there," Battler said.

"As you wish, Battler," Bernkastel said with a hidden smirk.

* * *

After meeting up with Doranbolt, Wendy was teleported to one of Zentopia's churches.

"Where's the disciple, Doranbolt-san?" Wendy asked.

"I'll get her to come and meet you," Doranbolt said. "Katja! Wendy's here!"

"Coming!" A voice, evidently belonging to someone named Katja, said. A few seconds later, out of the church walked a girl bearing a striking appearance to Wendy.

_?! _Wendy thought. _When Natsu told me about this, I thought the girl would look a _little _like me, but... this is just uncanny! Like we're related, or something!_

* * *

While this was happening, unbeknownst to the people at that church, Frederica Bernkastel was approximately ten minutes away.

"I feel a lot of power levels..." Bernkastel said to herself. "They're all really weak, so it must be Rune Knights. Why at a church, though? Could it be..." A ghastly grin was gained by the girl, "is that twin-tailed girl with the disgusting face there? Or is it just a coincidence? Fufufufu. It doesn't matter now, though. I've already started thinking about 'her', so now..." The Witch of Miracles then noticed a deer walk by her. After letting it walk for a bit, she jumped on top of the deer, ripped its head off with her bare hands, and bit it in half, "I'm so angry, I'll kill them all without remorse or distinction! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	64. A Single Moment

**Fox: I am so pissed off right now! My senior trip to Six Flags got cancelled, so all of my plans for that day are ruined! This gives me rage of the Brooklyn variety! ...My dad's from Brooklyn, by the way.**

**Pie: You aren't, though.**

**Fox: I still got Brooklyn blood in me, bro! Nyeh!**

**Pie: Right...**

**Fox: But still, at least I can use that ticket to go anytime I want. Plus, all that E3 stuff is still making me happy.**

**Pie: Rest in peace, XBox One(2013-2013). We already didn't want you after hearing how you worked, and **_**Kingdom Hearts III**_ **sealed the deal on your demise.**

**Fox: Yeah... that's all good stuff...**

**Lambda: OHHOHOHOHO! Don't forget about the other good thing going on here!**

**Pie: What are you talking about? And how are you here?**

**Lambda: I don't have to explain myself to a pastry! And what I am talking about is the first ever **_**Fairy Tail Redux: Salamander's Time Traveling Escapades**_ **popularity poll!**

**Fox: That's right, folks! If you go to my profile, you'll find a poll where you can vote for your favorite character in the series!**

**Pie: When voting, please try to only keep in mind your feelings for the character in **_**this story**_**, and not your feelings for them in canon.**

**Lambda: And I **_**better **_**be in the top 5! This isn't just to make feel good, you know!**

**Pie: Elaborate.**

**Lambda: Bern said that if I don't rank highly, then she'll boil a pot of honey, pour it all over my naked body, and use her tongue to clean it off.**

**Pie: That's horrible!**

**Lambda: ...Actually... that doesn't sound so bad. ...Is there a bathroom around here?**

**Fox: I think this is a good place to go to the disclaimer.**

**Pie: Me too.**

**Lambda: In case you didn't know, I was going mastur- **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"'Name'?" The blue-haired girl asked.

"Yeah! We gotta call you _something_, don't you think, you think?" The brunette asked.

"And it's gotta connect to your sister, somehow!" The brown-haired boy said. "Let's see... FURUDE... FREDE... Ah! Frederica! How's that sound?!" The girl was silent for a bit, but then she nodded her head as a response. "Frederica it is, then! Now for the last name..." The boy looked around the room for inspiration before his eyes settled on a wine bottle. "I got it! Bernkastel!"

"Good thing you stopped there. Her last name could've been 'Garbage can'," a girl with long, green hair done in a ponytail said.

"Hey!"

"It's fine!" The girl said. "I like it..."

"Alright then, sir," a girl with a face and hairstyle very identical to hers. "From now on, your name is Frederica Bernkastel, sir. You'll be my little sister, and I'll be your big sister, so let's get along, sir! Nipah~!" Then, for the first time in her life, Frederica Bernkastel gave a completely sincere smile.

* * *

That was about 100 years ago. Now, that same girl was using a rib bone to pick out chunks of raw deer meat from her teeth. In front of its children.

_Now, the little ones' vengeance will make them all the more delicious when I decide to eat them,_ Bernkastel thought to herself. _On that note, time to go kill some motherfuckers. _She then began walking towards the church.

* * *

Wendy, Katja, and Doranbolt had all walked inside of the church, but Wendy would not stop staring at Katja. She couldn't. Their resemblance was just too noticeable. Katja had caught it as well, and now she found herself staring at Wendy.

"If you're done with that, we have work to do," Doranbolt said, snapping the two out of their trance. "Now Wendy, even though you and Katja look alike, your hair will be a dead give away for what we're doing. On that note, we're going to have to shorten it."

"Right!" Wendy said. She then picked up a knife that happened to be lying around, bundled up a bunch of her hair, and in one big chop, cut her hair down to Katja's length.

"...I was going to suggest that we use magic to temporarily shorten it, but that might work too, I suppose..."

"Oh... right... magic..." _Dammit!_

"I'll be taking Katja in five minutes, and then I'll return here. There are also guards stationed all around the church, so even if they do find this one, you'll be safe, Wendy."

"Got it. Thank you." Doranbolt bowed his head and walked away from the two girls.

_...Well... now what...?_

"...your hair?" Katja asked, Wendy not hearing the first part.

"?"

"Want me to do something about your hair? It's sloppy, to say the least."

"Um... yeah, sure!" Katja got a pair of scissors and sat Wendy down as she worked. After a few minutes, Wendy's haircut left her with a hairstyle completely identical to Katja's, though the triangular bangs over her face pointed to the right, while Katja's pointed to the left.

"Wow! And to think that we already looked so alike!"

"Yeah..."

"...Katja, do you have any family?"

"No. None that I know of. Everyone in my family died long ago..."

"Oh... Me, too..."

"..."

"..."

"...You know... we should hang out when this is over!" A smile appeared on Katja's usually sad face.

"Y-Yeah! We should, Wendy." The girl then heard Doranbolt calling her over, so she bid her new friend farewell and left.

_It can't be a coincidence that you look like that, Katja. There's a connection between us. I don't know what, but there is! And after this- _Wendy stopped her thought when she heard a tapping noise on the window. She turned towards the window to see a black cat tapping it, causing Wendy to drop her jaw and mold her expression into one that screamed "OH CRAP!".

* * *

**Team 6**

Team 6, consisting of Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Jude, and Michelle, arrived at their location, and met with two people: Byro Cracy, and Featherine Augustus Aurora.

"So we indeed meet again, child of man," Featherine said to Natsu.

"..." was his response.

"Are you gonna give up right here, or do we have to get rough with you?" Gray asked.

"What? ...Oh, right! My mission!" Featherine said, as if she had forgotten why she was there. A red crystal appeared in the air beside her and flew towards the church, immediately followed by a loud scream. "Well, it looks like I'm done here. Nothing stopping me from leaving... but you wouldn't really enjoy that, now would you?"

"Understatement of the year, much?" Lucy asked sarcastically as she reached for her keys. Before she could grab them, though, a black, whip-like object wrapped around her wrists and threw her to the ground.

"Lucy!" Jude yelled, seconds before he and Michelle were thrown to the ground in the same manner.

"What's going on?!" Gray exclaimed. His eyes then began to follow the length of the whips to find that they weren't whips at all. In fact, they were tails attached to large black cats standing on their hind legs that wore capes. "Cats?! Again?!"

"Do you like them?" Featherine asked. "They are all heroes of various Kakera that I assisted who now serve me as cats in order to show their respect and gratitude. Also, I hope you aren't saying 'again' because Bern was the first one you saw fight with cats, because my little Miko got the idea from me. It's dishonorable to think that my disciple would come up with something before me, and if such disrespect is shown again... I might get a little mean." Featherine tapped her staff against the ground, apparently sending a signal to the cat binding Lucy to tighten the grip, causing her to scream out in pain.

"Nee-san!" Michelle shouted.

"You bitch!" Gray yelled, discarding his shirt and getting ready to run at her. His run, however, was stopped by Natsu putting his arm out in front of Gray.

"Stay back, Gray. I'll fight her alone," Natsu said.

"What?! You think you can beat her by yourself?!"

"No."

"Then-"

"But I'm the only one she'll actually care about fighting. Don't you feel that, too?"

"..."

"Sorry, man. Just sit this one out."

"..." Gray then, begrudgingly, walked away from Natsu. _...Dammit!_

* * *

**Team 2**

Team 2, Erza and Jellal, had arrived at a foresty part of a mountain, when they were suddenly treated to music coming from nowhere; specifically, it was _Organ Short #600 Million in C Minor_, by Luck Ganriki.

"One of them's here," Jellal said.

"I think I know who..." Erza said, noticing golden butterflies floating towards one place and converged into Beatrice.

"Whaaat?" Beatrice asked. "No black tea? No scones? Not a very warm welcome for a Golden Witch, you know."

"Save it, Beatrice. We didn't come here for tea."

"Oh, but there's always time for tea. Don't you agree, Shannon?"

"'Shannon'?" Jellal asked.

"Ignore that," Erza said. "She's just her imaginary friend." The background music suddenly stopped.

"...What are you talking about? Shannon's right here," Beatrice said. The music suddenly became Xaxi's _lie-alaia_, which, combined with Beatrice's calm demeanor, created a very creepy atmosphere. "She's over on my left, giving you all a smile. Next to her is her little brother Kanon, giving off a scowl, despite actually not being angry. On my right is Lion, getting ready to pinch your butts if you keep being rude, and next to him is Clair, whose face doesn't say anything, really. They're all trying to welcome you both, so what's with this attitude?" That entire speech had the married couple very freaked out. "No matter. You don't need to understand me. All you need to do... is DIE!"

* * *

**Team 4**

The members of team 4, Elfman and Lisanna, had found themselves on a mountain pass. So far, no one in Bloody Gulls had appeared.

"Maybe Cana's prediction was wrong?" Lisanna asked.

"That wouldn't be very manly," Elfman said. Suddenly, a bright red light flashed through the area, temporarily blinding the siblings. When it faded, everything was the same, but a new person, a woman, was standing in front of them.

"Good day to you two, Elfman Strauss, Lisanna Strauss," the woman said. "My name is Publius Virgilia Maro, but you may simply address me by 'Virgilia'."

"N-Nice to meet you... too..." Lisanna said.

"Same- wait! You're with Bloody Gulls, aren't you?!" Elfman yelled.

"That's correct," she said. "I'm mainly over here for Anti-Link, but your absence earlier has made me curious about your skills. As such, I have decided to play a little game with the two of you."

"We didn't come here for games!" Elfman activated his Beast Arm: Iron Bull, and threw a punch at Virgilia, but his fist only came into contact with a blue barrier that sent him flying back.

"Elf-nii!" Lisanna seemed like Elfman would fly clear off the mountain to Lisanna, but to both of their surprises, he instead crashed into a red wall of energy.

"The hell?" Elfman asked, rubbing the back of his head as he stood.

"Ah. I see that you discovered the closed room," Virgilia said.

"'Closed room'?"

"It's a common plot device in mystery novels. In a typical closed room, one of the characters will be found dead, but the circumstances surrounding the incident will make it seemingly impossible for such a murder to take place. Being able to solve these riddles decides whether or not the culprit is a human or, fufufufu, a witch."

"I don't get your point," Lisanna stated.

"It's simple, really. My challenge to you is this closed room. Here is the first truth of it:" Virgilia then opened her left eye and flashed a sinister smile, "**I killed you two in a closed room on this mountain pass!** How about you try and break this with human means, Strauss siblings?! Ohohohoho!"

* * *

**Team 5**

Team 5, consisting of the guild's Exceeds and Meredy, had stopped for lunch.

"So, Carla, what's your favorite thing to eat or drink?" Happy asked. "Mine's fish!"

"Is it really? I had _no _idea," Carla said sarcastically. "I'm always fine with a nice cup of darjeeling tea."

"Kiwis are the way to go for me!" Lily exclaimed. "What about you, Meredy?"

"...What are we doing?" Meredy asked. "Is this a valuable use of our time?" The cats simply stared at her as if she had three heads. "...Morning Rescue."

"There you go!"

"As for me, I always like to eat mushrooms sauteed in butter," said a new voice that, upon everyone turning, was revealed to belong to Samuel.

"Sammy!"

"Another Exceed!" Happy and Carla exclaimed.

_Is he wearing a diaper? _Meredy thought to herself.

"I'm not here to fight; I'm here to talk," Samuel said. "Things aren't right with Zentopia at the moment."

"_Really?_ What could _possibly_ be wrong with a cult that believes we're all possessed by ancient alien souls?"

"?! Are you mocking the words of L. Ron Hubbard?!"

"Very much so."

"Why you~!" Samuel activated his Battle Mode to attack Meredy, but while she geared herself to kick him in the balls, the five of them suddenly started to hear Dai's _Happiness of Marionette_. While the five of them searched for a source of the music, they saw golden butterflies that all flew to one point and formed a very familiar face for Meredy.

"Eva-Beatrice...!"

"No, no, no!" She said. "You have to put more fear into it! For I am... the Golden Witch! Kuukukukuku!"

"...!"

* * *

**Team 6**

"So, you plan on fighting me alone, Natsu?" Featherine asked. As soon as she did, IZNA's _Revelations_ started to play. "That, if you ask me, would be the stupidest decision you could make in this Kakera."

"You mentioned that word before," Natsu said. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Oh, it's just a fancy word for universe."

"And what do you mean by 'this' Kakera?"

"Well, this _is _a Kakera different from the one you were previously in, right?"

"!" _So they _do _know!_

"Surprised at how knowledgeable I am, child of man?"

"?!"

"Yes. I know about everything you've done in the last two years since arriving in this Kakera. It's all been good, for the most part, but you have made some very crucial errors."

"'Errors'?"

"Yes. Back in the fall, you sacrificed Ultear Milkovich in order to obtain Jellal Fernandes. At first glance, this seems like a brilliant move, but if one thinks ahead, and knows the backgrounds, they'll see what a blunder you made."

"What?!"

"In nearly all Kakera, Ultear becomes an ally of Fairy Tail in some way. It's not your fault that you didn't know that, but _surely _you could've planned better."

"Ultear... could've been our ally...?" Gray uttered.

"It's not my fault!" Natsu yelled. "I didn't think of that!"

"And that is why you fail," Featherine stated. "You didn't think properly, so you sealed off all possible solutions that were different from the first one you came up with. Because of that, you have forever lost the valuable piece that is Ultear Milkovich."

"That's..."

"And that's not the only result of your folly. Because of Ultear's arrest, Meredy got angry with Hades. So angry, in fact, that he was annoyed to a degree that caused him to shoot her in the legs, forcing her into the metal appendages she wears today."

"! Meredy's handicapped... because of me...?"

"Indeed. For someone who's been trying to be the hero, you've made serious mistakes. Are you even _trying _to win this Game, or are you just screwing around?"

"! Screwing... around...? All of these people have been counting on me... and you think... I'm screwing around~?! I'll teach you not to say I'm screwing around~!" Natsu then fired his Burning Breath at Featherine, the woman not moving at all as the blast seemingly connected. When the flames vanished, however, there was no sign of the Witch, at all.

"What?!" Byro Cracy exclaimed.

"She's gone!" Gray shouted.

"Where'd she go?!" Natsu asked.

"Over here." This was said by Featherine. Natsu quickly turned around to look at her, but he ended up having the butt of her staff get jammed into his face. "Oh,was that your nose? That was your nose."

_Dammit!_ Natsu thought, wiping blood away from his nose. As soon as he finished, he noticed that Featherine was once again gone. And, like before, as soon as she had vanished, she appeared behind Natsu, this time whacking his side with the staff and sending him flying.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried.

"Are we done playing around yet?" Featherine asked.

"I'm not playing around!" Natsu yelled as he got up. "Not all of us have super speed, you know!"

"I know. I wish I did, though."

"Yeah, I bet you- ...wait, what?"

"Wait, did you think... oh, no, Natsu. **I do not possess super speed. When I move from one place to the next, as you just saw me do, I am walking at normal speed.**"

"Impossible! How you could you walk at normal speed and get somewhere so fast?! There's no way!" A sudden revelation struck Natsu. "No... it can't be..."

"Hm? You came to the truth, and yet you still have doubts? Why? Is it so hard to fathom that someone who possesses the One Magic would have the ability to stop time?"

"!...!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I bet you guys didn't see that coming!**

**Pie: How can Featherine have the One Magic? I thought only Zeref still had it?**

**Fox: It'll all be explained in due time. Not now, though. Now, it's time for me to go to sleep.**

**Lambda: And to all of you still awake! Don't forget to vote for me in the poll! Or don't, 'cause I wouldn't mind that punishment that much.**

**Pie: Masochist, much?**

**Lambda: Bern and I are actually both the sadists.**

**Pie: Makes sense... I suppose... **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	65. Deadangle

**Fox: To the guest who reviewed the last chapter, I don't know how long this story will end up being, but it'll definitely get past 100 chapters, and I could envision it reaching 200. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

**Team 1**

"Do you have no balls at all, Mashima?!" Lambdadelta yelled out as she read the latest chapter of _Fairy Tail_ on her Lacrima. "I mean, it was pretty obvious that Gleey would come back to life, given how cliched you are, but the way you handled it was so stupid! Urururutear sacrifices her life to turn time back one minute, and everyone remembers what happened before? What is with that?! If it was me, I would've kept Gleey dead, have Naatsuu find his corpse, and let the rage unlock some sort of super power boost; that would've been cool! Right, guys?!" The Witch of Certainty turned to face Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Earth Land Coco to receive some sort of response, but forgot that she had defeated them all just a moment ago.

"You guys _are_ just unconscious, right?" She walked over to where the four of them lied and sniffed the air around their butts. "Yeah, you're all alive. Might as well head back now." She then teleported away from the area.

* * *

**Team 2**

The current music was Rei Miyakura's _Revive_, perfectly setting the scene for Erza and Jellal's battle against Beatrice.

"Come, arise! Shoulder War Towers!" Beatrice shouted. At her command, two enormous towers shot up from the ground, each one having hundreds of windows with a gattling gun sticking out of each. "Blast away!" At her command, all of the guns pointed at Erza and fire countless rounds of energy spears.

"Adamantine Armor! Plus Duplex Shield!" Erza shouted, Requipping her Adamantine Armor, in addition to four bladed shields, increasing her frontal defense enough so that only a few got her, though nothing vital was pierced.

"That's Titania for you! You won't let me do any real damage, will you?!" As Beatrice asked rhetorical questions, she noticed that someone was missing. "Where's your husband?"

"Why don't you look behind you?" Erza asked with a smirk. Beatrice did and saw Jellal using Fireball and his right arm clad in yellow energy.

"Take this!" Jellal shouted. "Big Bang Impact!"

"OH NOOOOOOO~!" Beatrice shouted gratuitously as Jellal swung his fist at her. "...NOT!" Out of nowhere, an object hit Jellal's forearm with enough speed and strength that he was pinned to a nearby tree.

"Jellal!" Erza shouted.

_What the hell?!_ Jellal thought. _What was that?!_ He then turned his head to examine the object. _...A stake?!_ Suddenly, a golden light wrapped around the stake, and it transformed into a girl floating next to him. The girl wore a black leotard and skirt(the latter bearing the mark of Bloody Gulls) of similar fashion to the Siesta Sisters' outfit, and she also had brown boots, black stockings with stocking fillers and a shrunken down red vest and blazer with a white shirt(also small) and pink tie. In terms of physical appearance, she had brass-colored hair done in two straight ponytails and big, red eyes that stared at Jellal, seductively.

"One of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory, Asmodeus of Lust, here," the girl said. "Though if you want me to 'arrive' somewhere else, I'd be more than happy to oblige for a handsome man like yourself." Asmodeus then began licking her lips suggestively.

_Hey, look! Jellal Jr. wants to play!_ said a familiar voice.

_Siegrain?! You don't show up for months, and when you do, it's for this?!_ Jellal thought to the apparition of his late brother.

_Well, you don't need me anymore. I'm lonely..._

_I'm_ so _sorry that I don't have anymore life-changing problems for you, a figment of my imagination, to get involved with!_

_That girl's got a purple laser sword around her right arm and she's about to cut you._

_And another thing- wait, what?_ Jellal then saw Asmodeus moving in for a strike and dodged by a hair.

_Oh. Jellal Jr.'s goin' home. I guess it'd be weird if he still wanted to play after that._

_You go home, too!_ Siegrain stuck his tongue out and vanished. "Erza, it looks like I got an opponent of my own to deal with! Can you fight Beatrice on your own for a bit?!"

"I was hoping you'd ask that!" Erza and Beatrice exclaimed, simultaneously, thus making it sound like only one person talked.

* * *

**Team 4**

**"I deny all of your Underlined wedges with the Bold Truth. None of the methods you suggest could defeat my closed room!"** This was yelled by Virgilia as she denied another solution for the closed room that was created for Elfman and Lisanna. The Strauss siblings knowledge of the mystery genre was far too small, for they could do nothing to break through Virgilia's various tricks. "Is this really all you can do? I'm sorry to say this, but I'm a bit disappointed."

"Yeah...?" Elfman asked. "Here's what I think of _that_!" He then went into his Beast Soul: Full-Body Take Over and swiped his claw at Virgilia, but she dodged with relative ease.

"So this is how it will be, then? Very well; the mystery ends here. From hereon out, this is a simple battle of magic." A wooden wand then appeared in Virgilia's hand. "Come, arise, sons of Ivaldi. Bestow upon me a worthy hammer." At her command, a giant hammer appeared and smacked Elfman aside into a rock before transforming into golden butterflies.

"Elf-nii!" Lisanna cried.

"Doesn't feel like that killed him. Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, has the power to kill any giant, but I guess a lot of muscle isn't the same thing." Virgilia then waved her wand and made a magic circle appear beneath Lisanna's feet. After a few seconds, an explosion of magic erupted from it that sent her flying into the air until she crashed onto the ground. "And it feels like you're still alive, too. I'm getting too old for this; my techniques just can't deal with the younger crowd as well as I'd like them to. Maybe Lady Lambdadelta can teach me something useful when this is all done." Virgilia then waved her wand and made her body turn into golden butterflies that all flew away from the scene.

* * *

**Team 5**

"So, Meredy, would you like your face in tact so you can have an open casket, or do you not care, considering how cadaver-iffic you're going to be?" Eva-Beatrice asked.

"The only one who'll be cadaver-iffic here is you!" Meredy declared. "This is where I'll get my revenge for you poisoning my mind!"

"You know, we're here, as well," Lily pointed out.

"Your usefulness is virtually nonexistent."

"But-"

"You are a cat! Do not get involved in people business!"

"If I may say something," Samuel started, "I believe that you're making a bad decision by wanting to fight her by your-"

"Lily's a Xenu supporter."

"WHAT?!" Samuel then activated his Battle Mode, forcing Lily to do the same, and the two got into a fight.

"This is a weird adventure. Even for us..." Carla said.

"Aye..." Happy added.

"Now, then, how shall we fight?" Meredy asked. "Are you going to call up those playboy bunnies again?"

"No, they're on break," Eva-Beatrice said. "Me fighting on my own should suffice. I think you'll find that my techniques really..." the Black Witch snapped her fingers, causing a large shadow to appear over Meredy. When she looked up, she saw a giant cake that soon squashed her. A pair of sunglasses then appeared on Eva-Beatrice's face, "...take the cake."

"_YEEEEAAAHHH!_" someone shouted. At that moment, a magic blade cut a hole in the front that Meredy crawled out of.

"Boo! You lived! Boo!"

"Shut up!" Meredy shouted. "Maguilty=Rays!" A multitude of yellow blades were sent flying at Eva-Beatrice, but with a wave of her staff, a large, red spiderweb appeared in the air and wrapped around all of them, creating a large bundle of sorts.

"You know, my predecessor is terribly afraid of spiderwebs. So much so that she and her furniture will burn at the mere touch of one. I, however, have no problem with a silly thing like this! Aren't I great?!" Eva-Beatrice then swung her staff and made the bundle fly towards Meredy. Meredy, however, threw out a powerful kick that caused the bundle to split in half. "That's right, you can charge Ethernano into those metal legs of yours to make them stronger. Let's just see how strong they are!" Eva-Beatrice's staff became laced in a red light as she flew at Meredy and swung. Meredy dodged, but she became horrified when she saw that the staff collided with a boulder and destroyed it, entirely.

_No way! Even charged with Ethernano, could my legs block that?!_ Meredy had no time to figure that out in her head, though, as Eva-Beatrice started swinging at her again. She managed to barely dodge each strike, but she eventually found her back up against a tree prior to her opponent throwing out another swing. Thinking fast, Meredy charged Ethernano into her right leg and used it to successfully block the attack, albeit a slightly deep cut being made in the metallic leg.

"Not bad, girl. However, now is when you finally fall before the awesome power of-"

_KILL YOUR FAMILY! KILL YOUR FAMILY! KILL YOUR FAMILY!_

"Oh, that's mine. One second." Suddenly, Luck Ganriki's _Fishy Aroma_ started playing as Eva-Beatrice pulled out a Mini Communications Lacrima, setting the visual function off. "You've got Eva! Oh, hi, Ange-chan! ...No! I didn't forget about our video chat today! ...It wasn't supposed to be at five?"

_Who is she talking to?_

"Look, I'm sorry I forgot, but can we do it later? ...I'm in the middle of something. ...No, it is _not_ something nefarious! ...You want me to prove it?! Fine! I'll go home so we can chat right now!" Eva-Beatrice's body then started to turn into golden butterflies that all flew off in various directions.

"That was... odd. Convenient, but odd."

"At least she forgot about the Anti-Link," Happy said. At the mention of that, Eva-Beatrice's left arm reappeared with a red crystal in hand and launched it at the church, causing a scream.

_Goddammit, Happy._ Carla thought.

* * *

**Team 2**

Back with Erza and Jellal, the fights were one even match and one one-sided match. The even match was Erza against Beatrice, with Erza able to get in hits with her Black Wing Armor when Beatrice didn't block with a red barrier and the Golden Witch able to cut Erza with red energy blades, except when the Titania swiped them away with her sword. The one-sided match was Jellal's fight against Asmodeus... though it was in the latter's favor.

No one really knew this, but Jellal had a weakness for busty women that weren't Erza or his friends. It's not that he wound up drooling over them; he just had a hard time concentrating around them, especially when they rubbed their assets in his face(figuratively and literally). So when Jellal saw that he ended up fighting a busty, hormone-driven schoolgirl who kept making double entendres, he knew that the fight would be a long one, even if he outclassed her by a large degree.

"What's wrong, Jellal?" Asmodeus asked, bouncing around to purposefully make her breasts Gainax. "You're gonna have to perform better for us to reach a climax, you know~!"

_Don't let her get to you, bro!_ The apparition of Siegrain said.

Really? Jellal thought to it. _That's funny, 'cause I actually_ planned _on her getting to me!_

"Hey!" The Stake of Lust yelled. "My breasts are down here!"

"GRRR!" Jellal rushed Asmodeus with a Meteor-enforced kick, but she managed to dodge by a hair.

"Looks like someone didn't come in time."

"I will destroy you!"

"Please do~!" Asmodeus swung her energy blade at Jellal, but he managed to catch it with his Bungee Gum and swing her towards a tree.

"Luz de la Luna!" Jellal summoned up his energy javelin and threw it at Asmodeus, piercing her stomach and pinning her to the tree.

"GUH! First you cover me with your goo, then you pierce me with your javelin...? Isn't the order of that... wrong...?"

"Go away. Please, just go away." Asmodeus' body then dissolved into golden butterflies that flew off in various directions. "Now that that's done, I can help Erza with-" Jellal was cut off by the sound of flesh being pierced all over. Not his flesh, though. He wished it was, though, as he turned to see his beloved wife appear to be on the verge of death. "Er...za...?" Let us go back a few minutes to see how this all happened.

* * *

The music playing was zts' _rahu goldenslaughterer_. Beatrice was firing blasts of golden energy at Erza that she either dodged or deflected with her sword.

"Is that all you can do, Erza?! Dodge and run?!" Beatrice yelled. "Come on! What fun is a fight when only one person's doing something?!"

"You want me to do something?" Erza asked as another energy blast was fired at her. "Fine! Here's something!" Erza flew up to dodge the attack and then soared straight at Beatrice to slice her. At least, that was the plan. However, before Erza even got halfway there, a stone wall shot up from the ground in front of her, cutting off her flight path. As soon as that happened, though, three other walls appeared around her, and another appeared on top of the others, trapping Erza in some sort of cube. "You think this will stop me?!" Erza used her Moon Flash attack to try and break down the wall, but it didn't budge. "What?!"

"Kuukukukuku! Idiot! That's a closed room! **In that closed room, for the duration of one minute from its creation, there is always at least one person inside! There are no doors for you to exit from! There are no windows for you to exit from! There are no tunnels for you to exit from! There are no hidden passages for you to exit from!** All you can do is sit there and die!" Beatrice then flew up to right above her closed room. "Come, arise, magical princess, Scathach! Bestow upon me the hero's spear of thunder!" A giant spear made of electricity appeared in front of Beatrice. "Come, arise, giant soldier battle line, and disciples of Hephaestus! Change the spear of thunder into infinite bolts of lightning and pierce through the enemy!" Six giant knights appeared between Beatrice and the spear and each put a hand out. When they did, dozens of bolts of electricity shot out of the spear and eventually came together as one bolt that completely obliterated the closed room. "And that takes care of that."

"Does it really?"

"?!" Beatrice was shocked to hear this voice. The owner of this voice should be dead. Nevertheless, Beatrice turned around to see Erza in her Lightning Empress Armor. _It can't be...! She used that armor to lessen the damage while still inside of the closed room?! This is bad! I can't do anything with her this close!_

"Get ready to fry! Wild Charge!" Erza's spear became covered in electricity as she ran it through Beatrice's chest and stuck it to the ground with a bang.

"Kuhihi... hi... That... hurts..." Beatrice said as she bled out.

"It's over, Beatrice. This is where you meet your end."

"Is that right...? That's fine... I've been around for 1000 years... so why not welcome death...?"

"..." Erza went back into her standard armor, causing the spear to disappear.

"!"

"Despite how annoying you were, you were a worthy opponent, Beatrice. You at least deserve a dignified death."

"Taking pity on me... despite how rotten I am, eh...? ...Just like my teacher... That reminds me... whenever I would break something, she would always have me recite a little phrase, and before I knew it, it would all be better. Do you mind... if I do that...?"

"...Go right ahead." _Something... seems off here..._

"Thank you. ...Come, try to remember... What kind of form did you have...? Have you... finally started to remember... Erza...?"

"?"

"Have you remembered your final momeeents...?" Suddenly, Erza's body was filled with energy spears, and Beatrice was standing up, completely fine.

"...What...? What... is this...?"

"Kukuku. Come, try to remember. What kind of form did you have...? How were you killed...?"

"?!"

"In the beginning, I didn't summon the Shoulder Towers; I summoned the Quadruplet Towers. The boundary line of death was drawn out by the hidden towers lurking far in the distance on either side of you... and you carelessly stepped over that and became the prey of ballista bullets."

"!"

"Declaring check so late was my one breach of manners. I shall apologize for that."

"Are you saying... you killed me...? Then... how..."

"How were able to do anything? Remember how I tricked you all with an illusion in order for you all to go to the same place? I didn't use any regular magic; I used the Lost Magic, 'Endless Magic'! Anyone who uses Endless Magic is able to cast perfect illusions that can not only trick the mind, but trick life and death, itself!"

"In other words... you can bring people back to life...? Then... why... do that with... me..."

"Whyyy?! Because that would be too dull, wouldn't iiit? Finishing things with the first move, I meaaan! That's why I revived you in an instant and tried playing with you a little moooore! It was fun, Erza! Whenever I feel like playing again, I'll bring you back to life. And once I've played enough, I'll make you remember that you're a corpseee! UHYAHAHAHAHAHA!" Beatrice's twisted laughter was the last thing Erza heard before her body collapsed to the ground.

"BEATRIIIIIIIIIIICEEEEEEE!" Jellal shouted, activating Photon Stream and flying at Beatrice with the intention of ripping her head off.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Beatrice snapped her fingers, and Jellal's body was pierced by six Stakes: two in the head, one in the chest, one in the stomach, one in the knee, and one in the foot. His body fell to the ground before he even knew what was happening. "Well that was a fun way to spend the afternoon! Kuukukukukuku!"

**Erza Scarlet: DEAD**

**Jellal Fernandes: DEAD**

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: What? Don't give me that look. I said anyone could die, didn't I?**

**Pie: That doesn't mean you aren't a monster.**

**Fox: Shut up, Pie. Anyway, next chapter, we finally start to head towards the climax of the Infinity Clock arc, so look forward to it.**

**Pie: Assuming we don't lose all of our fans.**

**Fox: Quiet, you! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	66. Victima Propiciatoria

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

**Team 6**

"The One... Magic...?" Natsu asked Featherine after her big reveal. "That's impossible! Purehito said that Zeref was the only person still able to use the One Magic!"

"That's only because he didn't know of my existence," Featherine said. "It's understandable, though. I _have_ lived much longer than Zeref."

"By how much?"

"I lost track after 200."

"Years?!"

"Centuries."

"Wow, you're old!" Michelle blurted out.

"! I am _not_ old!"

"But you have a cane."

"It's a staff! How about I use it to make a hole in your head?! Would you like that?!"

"No!"

"Good! So shut up!"

"...Okay..."

"Now then," Featherine started, regaining her composure, "let's continue, okay, child of man?"

"..." was Natsu's response.

"Natsu! This chick's too dangerous for you to fight alone!" Gray shouted, throwing off his shirt. "I don't care what you have to say about it; I'm coming in!" Suddenly, to Featherine only, everything went to a standstill. Time had stopped.

"I really don't want to deal with this one," Featherine said. She then tapped her staff to the ground and made a sheet of paper appear in front of her. It had the following words written on it: "'Natsu! This chick's too dangerous for you to fight alone!'" "Gray shouted, throwing off his shirt." "'I don't care what you have to say about it; I'm coming in!'"

"Yes, that's what's happening in the story right now. Let's see what can be added to it, though." A quill pen appeared in Featherine's right hand, somehow already laced with ink. She took her pen and wrote the following on the paper: "Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious force blasted Gray into a nearby hill, defeating him in an instant." "This should be good enough. I'll come back to it later to write in the identity of the 'mysterious force'." The pen and paper vanished, and the story went back to Gray.

"Natsu! This chick's too dangerous for you to fight alone!" Gray shouted, throwing off his shirt. "I don't care what you have to say about it; I'm coming in!" Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious force blasted Gray into a nearby hill, defeating him in an instant. "Wha...?" He immediately lost consciousness.

"Gray!" Lucy shouted.

"Featheriiiiiiineeee!" Natsu shouted. Before he could do anything, though, Featherine was behind him and hit him in the back with her staff. She then appeared in front of Natsu and jabbed him hard in the stomach. After that, she appeared at his side and whacked him in the neck, sending Natsu to the ground, coughing.

"I expected better from you, child of man," Featherine said. "You've certainly had a lot of time to prepare yourself for someone like me, and yet you're performing so poorly. Oh, well, I guess we should end this." Featherine then prepared to stop time again, but found herself unable to do so. _? This is odd._ She then turned to see Byro Cracy pointing his staff at her, indicating the use of his Nullification Magic. _No longer wanting to be on standby, eh? No matter; I can break out of this if I really-_

POW!

That was the sound made from Natsu's fist colliding with Featherine's staff. It was meant to collide with her face, but her quick senses allowed her to put up a guard.

"...Dammit!" Natsu shouted. "I still couldn't get you!"

"? You're upset?" Featherine asked. "That was the first time you forced me onto the defensive; you should be thrilled."

"Like hell! If I can't even land a real hit on you, that just shows how weak I am!"

"..."

"You were right... I'm a lousy hero. I've only been thinking about things that will be immediately helpful, and not in the long run. However! I'm going to get stronger! And stronger! Strong enough so that I'll never disappoint someone again!"

"..." A small smile appeared on Featherine's face. "How nostalgic..." she whispered. The Witch of Theatergoing, Drama, and Spectatorship turned around and started walking away, her cats vanishing with each step she took.

"Where are you going?"

"...You made me remember something nice, so I'm going home to think about it."

"So... you're quitting?"

"That's one way of looking at it."

"I see..."

"Before I leave, though, I shall give you a message to pass on, and a piece of advice."

"?"

"The message is for the next time you see Zeref. Tell him that 'Featherine-sama wants to have tea when you're free.'"

"?!"

"And now, the advice: Never stop looking for the truth. The pursuit of the truth is something you must continue. For your sake, and for the sake of the world."

"?! What do you-" Before Natsu could finish, Featherine was simply gone. _Featherine Augustus Aurora... just what _are_ you?_

* * *

While all of these events transpired, a certain man was underneath the Kardia Cathedral and heading towards the coffin containing the corpse of Will Neville. This man was the leader of Bloody Gulls, Battler Bauer. He approached the coffin and moved to open it, but a barrier stopped him from doing so.

"Damn..." Battler cursed to himself. "If this was a regular barrier, one hit from the Golden Key of Omnipotence could take it down, but given the nature of the Organic Link magic being used amongst the disciples, this probably won't go down until all of the others go. …" Battler took a step to the right and apparently dodged a slash from Erika Furudo's Scythe of Truth. "Fancy meeting you here."

"I should be saying that to you," Erika said with a smirk. "Although, this isn't that shocking. I knew that Kardia Cathedral was run by Zentopia, so it became rather obvious that one of you would come. Simply by knowing who runs this church, this level of reasoning is possible for Erika Furudo! What do you think, everyone?" Battler then gave Erika some sarcastic claps. "Thank you, thank you. I'm impressive, I know. Much more so than Natsu-san, who didn't even think of something like this."

"That he did not. Still, it was pretty reckless to just go and attack me like that."

"Was it...?" A malicious grin appeared on Erika's face.

"Unless, of course, your true plan was to 'have that Dlanor girl attack me from behind with her longsword while we talked'."

"?!" Battler then turned around to see Dlanor A. Knox standing in a position one would be if they had a sword, but there was no such thing in her hands.

"What is THIS...?" Dlanor asked. "This same thing happened with _Mr._ Natsu and _Mr._ Gray; they would try to attack, but then they would be unable to STRIKE."

"You want to know why? I'll tell you. It's all thanks to my magic, 'Chessboard Thinking'! With it, whenever I correctly guess my opponent's next action, or 'flip the chessboard', as I like to put it, they instantly lose the ability to perform the action!"

"!"

"Like that means anything to me!" Erika said. "Do you know who I am? Erika Furudo, the unpredictable councilwoman! Just try and flip the chessboard on me! I dare you!"

"Ooh! Feisty!" Battler exclaimed. "Come! Show me what you got, Erika Furudooooo!"

"You got it, Bwaattleeer-shwaaaaaann!" Battler drew his golden longsword and immediately clashed with Erika, Dlanor deciding to sit it out. What then transpired in front of her eyes was a scene of true amazement. The two combatants would throw out blow after blow after blow, but neither was able to land a hit. Battler was using Chessboard Thinking to predict Erika's actions and stop them, but like Erika stated, she was very unpredictable. Sure, he was sometimes able to 'flip the chessboard' on Erika, but Battler would occasionally be wrong about his guesses; in order to use Chessboard Thinking, one has to be very intelligent, so for Erika to be able to play Battler like this merely showed how much of a genius she was, as well.

* * *

The battle between the master of Bloody Gulls and the intellectual rapist raged on for ten minutes, neither mage able to land a hit on the other.

"You're quite the opponent, Battler-san," Erika said.

"You, too," Battler said. "Chessboard Thinking by itself won't be enough to defeat you. I'm gonna have to get creative."

"Is that right?" Battler didn't respond to Erika. He merely crouched down and brought his right hand, the hand holding his sword, up near his left shoulder, as if he was preparing a big horizontal slash. And a big, horizontal slash was indeed made... when Battler made an about-face and jumped towards Dlanor, resulting in a cut being made across... Erika's abdomen.

"Mein Führer!" Dlanor shouted.

"I'm fine..." Erika said before turning back to Battler. "I can't believe that you would do something like that, Battler-san... attacking Dlanor when she's not even fighting..."

"Yeah, good thing you got in the way, right?" Battler asked with a smirk.

"...Wait... you..."

"That's right. I attacked your friend over there knowing perfectly well that you would get in the way and take the hit!"

"That's a pretty dirty trick..."

"For the sake of victory, no trick is too dirty! That's what it means to be a witch(or, for me, sorcerer)! To be a member of Bloody Gulls!"

"...Heh... maybe we should hang out, then..."

"?" Battler then heard a dripping sound. He looked down to see a small puddle of blood by his feet. Confused, he then looked at his arm to see that it was bleeding from a large cut. "?! This is..."

"You thought that you were tricking me by attacking Dlanor, but I _knew_ you would do that! I allowed you to get me so I would be able to get you!"

"Ihihihihi! Impressive! Most impressive, Erika Furudo!" At that moment, a golden butterfly appeared out of nowhere and next to Battler's ear. "What?! Dammit, she said she'd just treat this as a game!"

"?"

"Sorry, Erika, but we'll have to finish this another time."

"Wh-What?!" Battler snapped his fingers and summoned a giant mass of golden butterflies around himself and Will Neville's coffin. The swarm somehow managed to lift both of them off the ground and made them vanish with another snap of Battler's fingers. "I'm... I'm being denied glory again?! ...DAMMIT!"

* * *

The scene is the church where Wendy met Katja, a few minutes after Battler and Erika started fighting. Wendy was basking in the glow of her new friendship when she saw a black cat by the window and freaked out on account of knowing who was very well associated with black cats.

"Calm down, Wendy, calm down," she said to herself. "Just because there's a cat right there doesn't mean _she'll_ be here..."

"That 'she' should be capitalized," a chilling voice said right behind Wendy. The girl turned around to see none other than Frederica Bernkastel. "And how are you today, Wendy?"

"! How did you-"

"You just addressed yourself as 'Wendy'."

"Oh... right..." _Dammit!_

"Anyway, right now, I'm giving you two options: you can get cut up by me, or you can get eaten alive by my cats. Which one sounds better to you?"

"If I had to say it honestly... I'd rather have us both just walk away from here."

"...Trash her, kitties." The window behind Wendy suddenly broke, letting in a giant pack of cats. At the same time, zts' _the_executioner_ began to play.

"Tenryū no Kūki-dama!" A ball of air appeared around Wendy's body as a sort of barrier, but after a few scratches from the cats, it immediately broke. Luckily, Wendy was able to jump back in time to avoid getting hit. "Jinkō Tenryū no Sendō Hamon Overdrive!" Wendy punched the ground and sent vibrations towards the cats that erupted into twisters, propelling them straight into the ceiling to be crushed. "Tenryū no Hoken!" Wendy punched forward and sent out a giant fist of wind that blew several other cats away, but after the attack faded, two cats bit her arms, while two bit her legs, and all four brought her down to the ground.

"Hmph. What will you do now, Wendy?" Bernkastel asked as she now floated above the scene of battle while drinking a cup of plum tea.

"COOOOOOOOOO!" Wendy inhaled deeply. When she did, a ball of wind formed around each part of her body that was being bit and blew the cats off. "Tenryū no Gusto Breath!" A giant blast of wind was fired from Wendy's mouth that obliterated all of the other cats. "How do you like me now, Bernkastel-san?!"

"...Not bad. You're putting up a pretty good show. You could say that by watching you, I'm having..." The wall behind Wendy shattered. She turned to see a giant whale flying through the air. The sight of it was so startling that she had no time to react as the whale ate her whole. After it did, the Witch of Miracles snapped her fingers and made a pair of sunglasses appear on her face, "a whale of a time."

"_YEEEEAAAHHH!_" someone shouted.

* * *

Even though Wendy was eaten by the whale, she was still very much alive. It was probably due to the fact that the whale wasn't actually a whale, but hundreds upon hundreds of Bernkastel's cats; in a way, that made it even more terrifying.

_Well... this isn't good..._ Wendy thought to herself. The cats then started to attack Wendy. She was able to dodge and attack some of them, and occasionally, she would surround herself in a barrier of wind, but because the cats were literally all around her, they would get immediately destroyed; there was nothing she could do to stop herself from being hit.

_This isn't working! I gotta get outta here!_ A golden wind suddenly appeared around Wendy's body. "Jinkō Metsu Ryū Ōgi Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!" The girl released a barrage of punches that destroyed a cat with every hit. Eventually, she burst through the side of the whale and got out of it, finally able to-

WHACK!

That was the sound of Bernkastel kicking Wendy in the back of the head and sending her face first to the floor.

"What? Did you think I'd just let you get out of there safely?" Bernkastel asked with a malicious grin. "Sorry, but no. However, the sheer fact that you did is impressive." Bernkastel snapped her fingers and made the whale disappear. "To honor such a feat, I shall personally deliver your death."

"...Why?"

"?"

"Why would you do that...? Why would you kill me when you went to the trouble of helping me come back to life?"

"I told you before, didn't I? I only did that because I was bored. There was no true benevolence involved."

"I don't believe you! No one would just help another person without any amount of good intentions!"

"Well, I'm not like other people. No matter how rotten a person is, there is always some amount of good in their hearts. I, however... am the exception."

"That's not true..."

"...Yes, it is..."

"That's not true..."

"...Yes... it is..."

"That's not true..."

"...Yes, it-"

"THAT's NOT TRUE! It's not true, no matter how much you try and convince yourself it is!"

"?! ...What?"

"You're not a person who's completely rotten; I don't believe it, and neither do you! If you did, then there wouldn't be hesitation in your words!"

"!"

"I don't know why you act like this, but I know that you're not a bad person, Bernkastel-san. Sure, you like to mess with people, and you can be rather violent... but you're a nice girl at heart. You're just a nice girl who's been hurt... that's all."

"...You're just like her..."

"...?"

"Even if you don't look entirely alike, you're just like her... looking past my cons... and only seeing my pros..." Bernkastel then started to walk slowly towards Wendy. When the two girls were face-to-face, after a few seconds of silence, the Witch of Miracles punched Wendy square in the face with so much force that she was sent flying through the wall. "...That pisses me off!"

"!" Before Wendy could react, Bernkastel teleported outside and began stomping on her back.

"You think you know me?! You think you understand me?! You think you can relate to me?! As if! No one can know me! No one can understand me! No one can relate to me! Not you, and especially not her! I'm the only one who understands my suffering, and your naivety shall cost you your life!" Bernkastel flipped Wendy's now unconscious body over. She then took her right hand and thrusted it straight through Wendy's stomach and began ripping out her intestines, laughing a laugh that was both maniacal and sorrowful at the same time, if such a thing could exist. Then, as Bernkastel continued to rip out Wendy's guts, she stopped when she grabbed something odd. Curious as to what it was, she pulled it out, opened her hand... and was met with an explosion that didn't hurt her, but did send her back.

"...I'll give you the naivety thing, Witch of Miracles. This girl is strong, but there's still a dangerous softness within her." All of this was being said, surprisingly, by Wendy. However, it was a much deeper voice than Wendy's regular voice, surprising Bernkastel. What was even more surprising, though, was that Wendy(?) was now standing up and staring Bernkastel down.

"...Who are you, exactly?"

"You want to know? Very well. I am-" Wendy(?) stopped when a figure suddenly appeared behind Bernkastel.

"The Anti-Links have been taken care of; return to base," the figure said to Bernkastel.

"...Fine," Bernkastel said, still eyeing Wendy(?). "Whoever you are," she said to Wendy(?), "tell Wendy this, and only this: 'if you try to act like my friend again, I will not hesitate to grind up your flesh and turn it into a Big Mac'." The Witch of Miracles then teleported away. As she did, two things were on her mind. One was the remembrance of the following: "Nipah~!". The second was her own thought, which was as follows: _...It's too late, Wendy. ...It's far too late to bring out the good in me..._

"...Now then... about you..."

"Me?" Wendy(?) asked. "That's right. What _do_ you plan on doing with me...?"

"...I will-"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	67. Dive to Emergency

**Fox: So, in case no one heard, Mashima tweeted that there's gonna be good news on July 4th.**

**Pie: Looks like the anime's coming back.**

**Fox: Maybe. Personally, though, I'd like them to announce a remake of the Rave Master anime, since Rave Master is much better than Fairy Tail.**

**Pie: ...The fans are going to kill you now.**

**Fox: I know... **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

"Ah, yeah. That's right, Erza. Pour that maple syrup. All over my breakfast. You beautiful lady who lives in my house."

"...What are you doing, Jellal?" Erza asked her husband as his eyes suddenly flew open.

"Erza?! You're alive?! Wait... _I'm_ alive?!"

"Yes. Before you do anything Jellal, an emotional hug right now would just waste time, so let's save that for later in the bedroom."

"Right. Wait... how _are_ we alive? Beatrice killed us, didn't she? Or maybe that was..." A smell suddenly invaded Jellal's nostrils. A smelly smell. The kind of smelly smell that was... smelly. "Oh God! Is this-"

"Yes... we have both crapped our respective pants, undeniable proof of death."

"Gross! I haven't felt this disgusted since Wendy vomited on me during the S-Class Exams!"

_DANGO DANGO DANGO DANGO DANGO DANGO DAIKAZOKU_

That was the custom ringtone Jellal set to his Mini Communications Lacrima for whenever Wendy called. He quickly answered it to see a surprising sight. "What happened to your hair, Wendy?"

"I kinda cut it..." Wendy said, embarrassingly running her hand through her short locks.

"Why did you... wait, is that a hospital bed you're in?"

"...Maybe."

"...ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

"! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Phew!" Jellal regained his composure. "Wait... you didn't die again, did you?"

"No! ...Almost did, but no."

_You're welcome,_ a voice said. Wendy turned her head to the left and right, but saw no one.

"?"

"Is everything alright?" Jellal asked.

"Y-Yeah! I should be out in a few days, and Katja managed to avoid being put in a coma, so I'll have company."

"'Katja'? I'm guessing she the girl crying into your lap." Finally pointing out the elephant in the room, Wendy turned to Katja who was, indeed, crying an ocean of tears into Wendy's lap.

"Yeah... could you stop that, by the way?"

"But I'm just so happy you're alright!" Katja cried, lifting up her head to reveal a face drenched in tears and snot.

"That's disgusting! Stop it! What are you, a character in _One Piece_?! ...Actually..." Blood started to drip out of Wendy's nose, "keep it going..."

"Well, it looks like everything's alright with you, so I'll call back once I have a free moment." Jellal hung up the Lacrima and put it back in his pocket. "We should head back to the guild... after changing our pants."

"Yeah..." Erza said.

"But still... how did we come back to life?"

"I can only think of one reason... or, rather, one person: Beatrice!"

* * *

"Atchoo!" Beatrice sneezed in a random part of the Infinity Castle, the true form of the Infinity Clock that recently appeared in the sky above the Zentopia Church.

"Everything alright, Beato?" Battler asked.

"It's better than alright, IT'S PAAFEKKTO! UHYAHAHAHA! That sneeze indicates that someone talked about me, and it could only have been my latest toy, Erza Scarlet. Her mind must be a mess trying to figure out why I would revive her and her husband! Kuukukukuku!"

"Yeah, just don't play with her too much. Now that the clock has transformed into the castle, we're finally moving into the endgame, and it'll be a hell of an endgame! Ihihihihi!"

* * *

After obtaining clean undergarments, Erza and Jellal returned to the guild to see that all of the other teams had returned, but they noticed two other things. One was that there was an air of depression in the guild, and the other that two noteworthy people and another were missing.

"Where are Lucy and Michelle?" Erza asked.

"And where's Gray?" Jellal asked.

"The Infinity Castle," Natsu said.

"You mean that giant fish thing in the sky? Based on the design, and how things usually work in these scenarios, Erza and I assumed that it was the Infinity Clock, but why would they be there?"

"Lucy and Gray got kidnapped."

"!"

"What about Michelle?" Erza asked. "Did she..."

"No, she didn't die, if that's what you're thinking. Michelle... betrayed us."

"What?!"

"After I finished fighting Featherine Augustus Aurora, I got a call from Gildarts and Laki on my Mini Communications Lacrima."

"Gildarts and Laki?"

"Before Dlanor, Erika, and the other people in Sen'ya Ichiya showed up, I asked the two of them to investigate the Lobster family. They headed down to the now abandoned Lobster Plantation, and deep underground, they found one comatose Michelle Lobster."

"! But that means-"

"Yep, ours was a phony. As soon as Gildarts said this, she threw off her disguise and showed off her true colors as Bloody Gulls' 'Imitatia'. Imitatia then knocked out Lucy and took her and the already unconscious Gray away. I would've done something, but I was too weak from my last fight..."

"I can't believe it..."

"Wait, why were you even suspicious of Michelle, no, Imitatia, anyway?" Jellal asked.

"It all stemmed back to when the Legion Corps first attacked. Michelle was caught by an attack that drained her strength, but it seemed weird to me that there would be a magic that would do that to a regular human. Going on this suspicion, I asked Gildarts and Laki to look into it in secret, and they confirmed that she was indeed a mole! Though I probably could've figured it out sooner if I just asked, right... Jude?" Everyone's eyes turned towards Lucy's father, who was just staring at the floor.

"...I didn't know she would betray us..." Jude said.

"But you did know that she wasn't who she said she was! Despite that, you kept it from Lucy the whole time! Why?!"

"Because all she wanted was to be Lucy's little sister again!"

"Huh?! Wasn't that made up?!"

"Not... entirely..." Jude then sat down at a table. "Michelle's deception goes further than her not being 'Michelle Lobster'; she's not even human."

"? So she's some sort of humanoid sentinoid?"

"No... she's a doll."

"?!"

"...Michelle was a doll and a birthday present from Lucy's mother, Layla."

"A... a doll?"

"Yes. She fell in love with the doll at first sight, declaring it her little sister. The two were inseparable... at least... until Layla died. After that day, Lucy abandoned the doll, as it gave her painful memories of her mother. Eventually, Lucy had forgotten all about it, and the last time anyone came into contact with it was when I offered it an apology for it being abandoned. That was nearly eight years ago. Then, as I'm sure you've heard, Michelle came to me in October, claiming to be a distant cousin. I can't explain, but somehow... I knew that this girl was the same Michelle that was supposed to be just a doll...!"

"That still doesn't explain why you went along with it all."

"Doesn't it, Natsu? For years, I plunged myself into my work to forget about my wife, and because of it, my relationship with Lucy completely shattered. I was certain that she hated me after the Phantom incident, but then the incident with Naked Mummy happened, and our bond began to rebuild... a blessing a rotten father like me didn't deserve. So, if I met someone who I knew could make my only daughter happy, even if I wasn't sure how she could even be... does that really make me a bad person?!"

"..." Natsu walked over to Jude and put a hand on his shoulder. "No. Not at all. The only bad ones here are the bastards who manipulated Michelle's feelings!"

"That's right!" Makarov shouted. "And are you brats just gonna stand here and let them get away with it?!"

"NO!" Everyone shouted.

"Damn right, 'no'! Now get out there and kick some ass!"

"YEAH!"

"Indeed, actually!" A new voice shouted. Confused, everyone turned around to see the Archaeological Society.

"Where did you guys come from?!" Natsu asked.

"Actually, your door was open, actually," Jean-Luc Neville said.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Actually, as you know, the Infinity Clock has become the Infinity Castle, actually... thanks for that, by the way, Jude. Way to drop the ball, actually."

"Sorry..." Jude said.

"Anyway, actually, we are here to present you with a magic hammer that is said to nullify evil, actually." The Archaeological Society then opened up a box to reveal the aforementioned hammer. "It might actually help in your battle, actually. Now then, which of you shall-"

"Dibs," Erza said, taking the hammer before anyone could react. "By the way, how are we going to get to the castle, anyway?" Before anyone could answer, they heard the sound of a horn being honked. Going outside to investigate, they saw a government airship with Erika Furudo standing out on deck, wearing a pirate hat, for some reason.

"Need a lift?!" Erika asked, her response being a simple smirk from Natsu.

* * *

At the Infinity Castle, standing near a window were Battler, Bernkastel, and Imitatia.

"So, Battler, how much longer until Lucy is completely fused with the Infinity Clock?" Bernkastel asked.

"Should be just a few more hours," Battler replied.

"You know that they're going to come after us, right?"

"Don't worry. If my little plan goes well, they won't get anywhere near here."

"Plan? What plan?"

"Se~cret."

"Hmph. You shouldn't keep secrets from your teammates, you know."

"...This coming from the person who planted a mole!" He pointed dramatically at Imitatia. "Without even telling me!"

"...In my defense, I don't consider you people teammates. I'm bad, you're bad, and we're just working together to do bad things."

"...Yeah." Battler's body turned into golden butterflies that scattered.

"...Lady Bernkastel..." Imitatia started, "will I... will I really get my wish after this...?"

"But of course, my loyal piece of furniture. When everything is done, you shall be with your beloved nee-san, forever." The Witch of Miracles turned around and started to walk away, making her smirk invisible to Imitatia. "Forever and ever..."

* * *

Back with Fairy Tail, the rescue team, consisting of Natsu, Happy, Erza, Jellal, Meredy, Gajeel, Lily, Jude, Elfman, and Lisanna, had gotten on the airship, and it immediately took off towards the Infinity Castle. As they flew through the air, their ride was met with trouble as the ship was suddenly hit by a giant blue spear.

"What on Earth Land was that?!" Erika asked.

"Look!" Lisanna shouted, pointing to the sky. Everyone looked up to see none other than Bloody Gulls' Virgilia.

"Oh, darn," she said. "I missed the power unit by a few meters. Perhaps the direct approach would be best." She then flew down to the deck and prepared to stab the ship with another spear, but she was suddenly tackled by Elfman and thrown overboard. "...What?"

"Elf-nii!" Abandoning all reason, Lisanna jumped after her brother.

"Lisanna!" Happy shouted. "We have to go get them, you guys."

"We don't have time for that, Happy-san," Erika said.

"But-"

"Listen to her, Happy..." Natsu managed to say through his sickness. "If we go get them, we'll end up fighting Virgilia... and end up wasting time... that can't be wasted..."

"..."

"They'll be alright... I'm sure of it..."

* * *

**Fox: You know what's a good manga? ****_Soul Eater_****. I don't know why I didn't like it the first two times I read it.**

**Pie: Is that all you're saying?**

**Fox: Yep. Goodbye. **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	68. Gambit

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Gray Fullbuster awoke with a daze. He quickly looked around the area to discover two things: he was in a jail cell, and so was the Jiggle Butt Gang.

"Hey! You're the assholes from the train!" Gray yelled.

"AH!" They all screamed. "Don't hurt us!"

"...I don't have the time. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"My lackeys and I were snooping around the Church for something to steal when we heard this Lapointe guy talking to someone else," the Boss said. "He was saying stuff about the Archbishop being his puppet and the time of sacrifice being upon us. When he saw us listening, he threw us in jail."

"So, there's some sort of coup going on, eh? But what's with that 'time of sacrifice' thing? ...Wait..." The ice mage immediately remembered the connection between the Infinity Clock and the Celestial Spirit mages and came to a grim conclusion: Lucy was meant to be sacrificed. "Lucy!" Gray turned to the bars and prepared to blast it with ice.

"Don't do it, man! There's a magic barrier cast on this cell; any attack you use will be sent right back at you!"

"How the hell am I supposed to get outta here, then?! …" An idea popped into Gray's mind. "Any of you got a pencil?"

"Yeah." The Boss took out a sharpened pencil and handed it to Gray, who then proceeded to stab him with it in the stomach. "AAAAH!"

"Boss!" The Lackeys cried.

"What the hell, man?!"

"Guards, help!" Gray yelled. "This man is hurt!"

"You dick!" Sure enough, the guards came to help the Boss, and when they did, Gray froze them in their place. Afterwards, he and the Jiggle Butt Gang ran out of the jail cell to find the Archbishop, as helping him could very well end the entire conflict. However, it appeared that that wouldn't be so easy when they ran into Guttman Kubrick. ...Keyword, _appeared_. Gray was so angry right then that he just punched Guttman clear out of the way, also accidentally knocking him into the Jiggle Butt Gang.

* * *

"Well that was certainly bold of you both," Virgilia said to Elfman and Lisanna after they landed on the ground. "Reminds me of the time I fought a colonel who could shoot fire from his hands. ...That was me, right?"

"Enough chit-chat!" Elfman shouted. "Let's go, right now! And none of that stupid mystery stuff this time!"

"...I'm going to kill you extra hard for insulting mysteries now." Virgilia pulled out her wand and moved it through the air a few times. When she stopped, two things happened: Dai's _Final Answer_ began to play, and from seemingly nowhere, dozens of muscular, humanoid goats dressed as butlers appeared around the Strausses.

"Wh-What are they?!" Lisanna asked.

"The instruments of your destruction." Purple energy blades appeared around each of their right arms as they charged at Elfman and Lisanna. Elfman tried to use his Beast Soul: Lizardman to protect the two of them, but much to his surprise, he could only withstand three slashes before he was forced out of his transformation, allowing the goats to punch Lisanna in the stomach and face and throw her to the ground.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that the goats and their weapons are made of maginanium?"

"What?!" Elfman exclaimed. "So they're highly resistant to magic... and can lower other people's magic?!"

"That's right. Prepare to die, now." The goat butlers started to attack once again. The Strausses tried fighting back the best they could, but the goats were too fast and strong, and the maginanium was continually making it hard for them to fight.

_This isn't good... _Elfman thought as he and Lisanna fell to the ground. _No matter what we do, these stupid goats keep taking us down!_

_It's because you're not smart, woof, _a familiar voice said in his head.

_?! Dog?!_

_My name is Spot, woof. And like I said on the island, what you lack is intelligence, and what Lisanna lacks is strength, woof. However, right now, in this battle, you both have a chance to obtain what you lack, woof._

_What? How?!_

_Figure it out; it's not hard, woof._ Spot's voice vanished from Elfman's mind.

_How am I supposed to figure it out with all of these monsters ready to kill us?! ...Wait..._ Elfman quickly closed his eyes upon coming to some sort of realization. When Lisanna saw this, she was initially confused, but it appeared that she had caught on to whatever her brother was up to, as she closed her eyes, as well.

"What's this? Giving up, are you?" Virgilia asked. "That's disappointing. Oh, well. Let's end this, shall we?" Virgilia snapped her fingers. When she did, all of the goat butlers' blades vanished, and they opened their drooling mouths while staring at the Strausses, making their next action quite obvious; they were going to eat them.

The goat butlers jumped onto the siblings to begin their feast. They would tear them up. They were too big for them to swallow. They would tear them up. This was a bit difficult for them. They would first tear them into small pieces. They would tear them up. They would tear them up, and then swallow everything.

* * *

Back on the airship, Erika, as they approached Zentopia, was trying to lift everyone's spirits with a song, accompanied by an invisible backup band, but her choice in music seemed to only cheer _her _up.

_Erika, FUCK YEAH! _

_Comin' again to save the mother fuckin' day, yeah, _

_Erika, FUCK YEAH! _

_Freedom is the only way, yeah._

_Terrorists, your game is through, 'cause now you have to answer to_

_Erika, FUCK YEAH!_

_So lick my butt, and suck on my balls!_

_Erika, FUCK YEAH!_

_What you gonna do when I come for you now?!_

"Will you stop that Erika?!" Natsu somehow managed to yell.

"Fine," Erika said, the music stopping at the same time.

"Can someone tell me where all of this music keeps coming from?" Jellal asked. "This is just plain weird."

"Wanna know what's _really_ weird?" Meredy asked the group. "We live in an English-speaking country, yet we write everything in Japanese! Can someone explain that, please?"

"Oh, that's easy, Meredy-san," Erika started. "You see, Fiore-" Erika was cut off, however, when the side of the ship was blasted by Zentopian guards. "Oh my science!"

"Infidels!" Byro Cracy boomed from the church. "We are giving you one final chance! Submit to the will of L. Ron Hubbard, or be destroyed!"

"Here's what I think of that!" Erika stuck up her index finger and pulled down her eyelid while sticking her tongue out.

"! Fine! Don't expect any help when Xenu arrives to steal your alien soul!"

"There. Right there. You just went full retard."

"KANALOA!" Byro Cracy's giant octopus jumped out from seemingly nowhere and attached itself to the ship, spraying its corrosive ink to try and dissolve it.

"Everyone! Quick! Get off the ship! The only way to take this thing down is with a big crash!"

"What about you...?" Natsu asked.

"...It's an honor for the captain to go down with the ship, isn't it?"

"! Wha-"

"GO!" Happy quickly grabbed onto Natsu's back and flew him off the ship. Alongside him were Jellal carrying Erza and Meredy and Lily carrying Gajeel and Jude. As they were flown to the church, they took one final glance to see the ship crashing to the ground in a big explosion.

"ERIKA~!"

"Yes?"

"?!" Everyone turned their heads to see Erika Furudo with a parachute strapped to her back. "You're alive?!"

"Well, _yeah_. I always keep a parachute on my person in case something like this happens."

"What happened to going down with the ship?!"

"Just because I said it was honorable doesn't mean I was gonna do it, moron." Natsu ignited his fist and used it to incinerate the parachute, causing the girl to plummet.

"NATSU!" Erza yelled.

"My hand slipped."

"While on fire?!" The yelling stopped when they heard a strange sound below. They looked to see that another parachute had been deployed by Erika Furudo.

"Second parachute, bitch!" Erika shouted towards Natsu.

"Erika, I both respect and hate you at the same time," Natsu said with a smile.

"Me, too, Natsu-san. Me, too."

* * *

SLASH

That was the sound that reverberated through the air. The sound of a sword cutting through flesh. The flesh of goats. Virgilia's usually closed eyes flew open as she saw standing in the middle of the herd two goat butlers(one being noticeably skinny) with white fur and drawn blades.

_Oh no! _Virgilia thought to herself. _Those two _let _the goats chomp on them so they could convert their magical energies into Take Overs! _When this thought ended, Dai's _Mortal Stampede _began playing.

"So _this _is what it's like to come up with a plan!" Elfman, the bulkier white goat, said. "It feels... _weird_."

"You'll get used to it, Elf-nii," Lisanna, the slimmer goat, said. The two Strausses then ran into the herd of goats and started an epic battle.

_This is bad! _Virgilia thought while biting a handkerchief. _Right now, the maginanium from the goat butlers is in their bodies. Maginanium acts as a negative, and regular magic acts as a positive. A positive times a negative is a negative. When they make contact with each other, their negatives will create a positive that breaks through the negative bodies of my goats! _By the time Virgilia finished her Bat Deduction, all of her goats had been completely defeated.

"Nfufufufu. Very impressive. However, it'll take more than that to defeat me, Virgilia, the Witch of Finite!" Virgilia waved her wand and summoned up a goat butler much larger and muscular than the other ones. "Destroy them, Goat-kun!" The goat butler charged at the two mages. However, they both had calm expressions as Lisanna stepped forward, pulled her left arm back, and delivered a devastating punch to the goat butler's face. "Goat-kun?!" The giant goat started stumbling backwards until it eventually fell onto its master.

"Who's weak now, ya dumb dog?!" Lisanna shouted.

"Nice punch, Lisanna!" Elfman shouted. "It was super manly!"

"This fight's not over yet, though! We still have to fight that stupid witch!"

"I am not stupid!" Virgilia shouted. "Also! ...Um... you see... the weight of Goat-kun combined with the fact that he's made of maginanium is making it very difficult to get up, so could you lend a hand and-"

"NO," the Strausses said in unison.

"Boo!"

* * *

Back with Gray, he had finally made his way to the Archbishop's room where he encountered not only the Archbishop, but Gildarts, Laki, and Lapointe.

"Hey, Gray, you're just in time to watch me kick this guy's ass," Gildarts said.

"There shall be no ass-kicking going on here," Lapointe said. "It is too late for us to be stopped. Lucy Heartfilia shall soon become one with the Infinity Castle, and the Bloody Gulls shall spread chaos through the entire world!"

"So your crazy cult _is _a part of this!" Gray shouted.

"But I thought Zentopia wanted to use the Infinity Clock to protect the world from aliens," Laki said.

"...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lapointe guffawed. "You actually _believe _that crap?!"

"Don't you?"

"NO! I mean, seriously, alien overlords?! Soul-catching devices?! Dummy! It's all just a scam! A scam to get stupid people to throw tons of money at us! There's no Xenu, no alien souls; it's all just a load of nonsensical crap!"

"Like the majority of fanfiction?"

"Exactly! It's utterly retarded, yet tons of stupid people think of it as something great! Not only that, but..." Lapointe stopped his rant when he saw Gray doing something odd. "Why are your fingers at your temple?"

"Nothing special. Just broadcasting your rant with Telepathy," Gray said.

"Oh, okay, then. ...Wait, what?" Suddenly, the wall behind Lapointe shattered into tons of pieces. Turning, he saw Byro Cracy standing at the hole in the wall with an angry look on his face.

"Lapointe..." Byro Cracy said.

"Oh... hello... ByrOW!" Lapointe soon found himself getting punched in the face.

"Lapointe, as a follower of this church, lies and dishonesty are things I can tolerate, but this is unforgivable! No one, not even you, shall get away with mocking the glorious words of L. Ron Hubbard!"

"Seriously?! It's all a bunch of bullcrap! Xenu's not going to invade the planet because he doesn't exist!"

"Ya hear that, man?!" Gray shouted. "Not only did he brainwash the Archbishop, but he lied about a Xenu attack!"

"Stay out of this!"

"That is the final straw!" Byro Cracy shouted, immediately blasting Lapointe with his Divine Arrow. After he was thoroughly pierced, Lapointe's body vanished, leaving only a piece of konpeitou in his place.

"He was just a piece of candy?" Laki asked.

"Well, I guess it's true when they say that victory is..." Gildarts then put on a pair of sunglasses, "sweet."

"_YEEEEAAAHHH!_" someone shouted. It was right then that the Fairy Tail mages came into the room.

"...Did we miss something?" Natsu asked.

* * *

After explaining everything that happened, Natsu immediately came up with a plan.

"Back in the crypt, the Bloody Gulls said that we would win the 'game' if we could beat all of them, so that's what we have to do," Natsu said. "There must be some sort of link between their collective consciousness and the strength of the clock, so beating them all will probably shut it down!"

"Not only that, but the Archbishop might be cured of this wretched curse if we defeat their leader!" Byro Cracy said.

"Indeed! Gildarts, you stay here with Happy and Laki to guard the Archbishop in case he gets made some sort of target. Byro, head outside with Lily to do crowd control; you should probably get the rest of the Legion Corps to do that, as well. The rest of you, you're coming with me to the Infinity Castle to save Lucy and kick some witch ass!" With a simultaneous "YEAH!" from everyone, the group split up to perform their respective tasks.

* * *

Finding their way inside the Infinity Castle, the group ended up in what looked like a very large tea room, with a person Erza knew very well sitting at a table, drinking tea.

"Natsu, leave this one to Jellal and me. This one's personal," Erza said. Natsu nodded his head and had everyone leave the room so Erza and Jellal could battle Beatrice.

"So, the two fools have entered my stage again," Beatrice said.

"You're not gonna win this time, Beatrice!" Jellal shouted. "It's two-on-one, and you're going down!"

"Correction, Jellal; it's one-on-one." Suddenly, Jellal's body turned into a piece of konpeitou that flew out an open window.

"Jellal!" Erza shouted. "What did you do with my husband?!"

"_I _didn't do a thing. Lady Lambdadelta simply felt like fighting your man, and I simply felt like fighting you alone."

"Why?! Why are you so obsessed with me?!"

"..." Beatrice put down her cup of tea. "Is it so strange... for me to want to play around with my little sister?"

"?! ...Wha... what did you say...?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	69. 7 Weights

**Fox: It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to put an end to the popularity poll.**

**Lambda: What?! Why?!**

**Pie: No one's voting, that's why. In hindsight, it **_**was **_**ridiculous to create a poll with 100 different choices.**

**Lambda: But no one voted for me! Bern's gonna punish me very erotically for not doing a good job!**

**Pie: And the downside is...**

**Lambda: ...Oh yeah. Bye Bye!*Lambda vanishes***

**Fox: Moving right along, the results of the poll!**

**1st. Natsu Dragneel(Obviously)**

**2nd. Fuyu Navidades and Wendy Marvell[Sad that my favorite character and Creator's Pet(Wendy) didn't win]**

**4th. Zeref, Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar, Gajeel Redfox, and Acnologia(Seems about right)**

**8th. Happy, Cana Alberona, Jellal Fernandes, Absoliutus Teisingumas, Lisanna Strauss, and Mavis Vermillion(This was surprising, to say the least)**

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

For about two minutes, the konpeitou that was once Jellal flew through the air, not knowing at all where it would land. Finally, it landed somewhere and returned to being Jellal. When his vision returned, he was greeted to a truly horrible sight: a room filled to the brim with stuffed animals and candy.

"...What the hell is this?" He asked aloud.

"Isn't it super deluxe adorable?!" Lambdadelta asked, appearing out of nowhere in front of Jellal.

"I feel like this is what the inside of Pinkie Pie looks like."

"Ohohoho. That's pretty funny! ...Now, then," The Witch of Miracles cheery tone disappeared, "I want to talk to you about that little girl of yours."

* * *

"...This place is weird..." is what Natsu said when his group ended up in the next area: a giant forest.

"...You guys go ahead," Meredy said. "This one's mine."

"Really?"

"Positive..." she said while rubbing the cut made on her right leg. Natsu and the others gave her a nod and left the area. When Meredy was all alone, she turned her head to the left and said, "So, how are we going to do this, Eva-Beatrice?"

"My, my!" Eva-Beatrice responded as she appeared out of nowhere with a ghastly grin. "Aren't _you _eager to die?"

* * *

The next place the group ended up at was a room filled with tons of large gears, and waiting for them atop one of these gears was a very powerful individual.

"Battler!" Gray shouted.

"Yes, it is I!" Battler shouted. "Battler Bauer, the Golden Endless Sorcerer of Miracles! I got bored waiting for you guys to come to where I was, so I decided to come out a little earlier than planned!"

"I _knew _you were gay!" Gajeel said.

"...Alright, I'm fighting you now."

"Fine with me."

"No way, man! This guy's mine!" Gray shouted.

"Let's just go and let him," Natsu said, dragging off an angry Gray. "Not like Gajeel will win, anyway."

"Yeah, not like I'll- ...HEY!" Gajeel shouted at Natsu who had already taken the rest of the group and left. "Man, I get no respect around here." He then turned back to Battler. "At least I got your ass to kick."

"Can I ask a question before we start?" Battler asked.

"Um... yes?"

"Who are you?"

"...WHAT?!"

* * *

"You... right now... what did you say...?" Erza asked.

"You heard me," Beatrice said. "I called you my little sister, little sister."

"That... that's impossible! I don't have any siblings! Besides, you said that you've been around for 1000 years! How could we be related in such a way?!"

"Oh, that. That's actually a sort of lie. While some witches _have_ lived for a millenium or two, like Lady Featherine, but when a witch states their age, it's usually just to mess with whoever's listening. The truth of the matter is that I've only lived for nineteen years... and they weren't exactly easy..."

"..." Erza sat down at the table in a chair opposite of Beatrice. "I'm listening." At this point, zts' _Rain _began to play.

"...You might not like to hear this, but your father had an affair with my mother. A blonde woman he met one day in some part of the world. It was a small thing that broke off rather fast and no one even learned about, but it happened, nonetheless. I was born a few months before you were, but my mother didn't survive it...

"As you can probably imagine, an orphan girl born out of wedlock isn't the kind of person who would be free of ridicule from others. I honestly don't remember a day when someone didn't mock me for being a bastard child. No one wanted to be my friend, so I had to create my own."

"Those people you keep talking to?"

"Yes. Shannon, Kanon, Claire, and Lion; even now, they still show up to comfort my loneliness. However, imaginary friends are just that: imaginary. They can't actually help you with your problems, so they just kept getting worse and worse... especially when my magic began to surface."

"What do you mean?"

"...It's hard to use magic for the sake of making someone happy, but it's easy to use magic to harm others... and boy, did I do that. The town I grew up in had very few mages, and we were really far away from the Magic Council, so when my Endless Magic awakened, I felt that I was unstoppable. I felt that they were all beneath me. I felt that... I was a God. And as God, I felt that it was my duty to... cast judgement.

"You should've seen how brutally I killed those rotten kids; even someone like _you_ would be a little impressed with how it was all done. I didn't stop there, though. The entire town had to feel the wrath that had built up inside of me, and when they did, I stopped to look at all that I had done... and cried.

"It was right then and there that I realized I was a monster. Even though I eventually met Battler and teacher and everyone else in the guild who treated me like family, I still knew that I was a horrible person deep down. They all tried to comfort me, but they couldn't, for I was truly alone in this world. At least... I thought I was.

"When I killed you and brought you back to life, I read your genetic code, and I saw that it was nearly identical to my own. I couldn't believe it. I had a sister. I had family. I wasn't alone. I had someone..." a single tear fell down Beatrice's face, "...who would love me."

"...Beatrice..."

"Can you forgive me, Erza? Can you forgive your big sister for acting in such a horrid manner?"

"...Come here." Erza motioned for Beatrice to stand up. When she did, the Golden Witch was immediately taken into a loving embrace. Incredibly touched, Beatrice prepared to return the hug, but she immediately saw that as being impossible. The reason being? Erza donned her Neon Genesis Armor and used Haze of Bardiel to throw Beatrice head first into a wall.

"Did you honestly expect me to buy that crap?!" Erza yelled as the armor returned to her.

"...Kukuku..." Beatrice slowly pulled her head out of the wall. "Kukuku..." When it was fully out, she had on a face of immeasurable twistedness. "Kuukukukukuku! You've learned the way to play this game rather fast! I really thought I did a good job with that lie, but you figured the most important rule in a game: never trust your opponent!"

"Just seeing your despicable face twice was enough to tell me not to trust anything that comes from an innocent one! Now, then, let's end this once and for all! I'll show you how much of a mistake it was to bring me back to life! BEATRIIIIIIIICE!"

"Go ahead and try! I'll mess around with you until your seams tear and stuffing begins to pour out, my little toy! Try to entertain me until then, though! ERZA SCWARLET! UHYAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

"You... you don't know who I am?!" Gajeel yelled.

"Nope. Not a clue," Battler said. "Am I supposed to know who you are?"

"Maybe _this _will be familiar!" Gajeel jumped up into the air and used his Tetsuryūkon, but Battler stuck up an index finger and flicked it away. "What?!"

"Hmm... Oh! Now I remember you!" Battler snapped his fingers and made a golden rectangle-shaped device appear in his hands that had a white avocado on the back. "Gajeel Redfox. Presumed age: Late teens to early twenties. Guild: Fairy Tail. Magic: Iron Dragon Slaying Magic, Lost Magic. Hey! Just like me! Ever heard of Endless Magic?"

"Like hell!" Gajeel unleashed his roar, but Battler simply stepped to the left and avoided it.

"Let's see... criminal record..."

"?!"

"Ah, this is how I've heard of you! Let me just read this here..." Battler then moved his hand across the object as if there was some sort of screen on it. "'In the summer of X777, seven towns were completely demolished over the course of a single week, the citizens all severely injured and needing extensive medical care. The cause was not a natural disaster, though; it was a currently unnamed mage whose body seemed to be completely made of metal'. That was you, wasn't it?"

"...Shut up."

"A man from Sen'ya Ichiya's SSVD was deployed to take you down, but you somehow escaped before you were thrown in jail. The place that that happened was one that many people died in, so they assumed that when you vanished, you died. Since they didn't even know your name, that's how you're able to walk away free, isn't it? And..." Battler suddenly appeared right in front of Gajeel, "it's the reason you aren't able to be a true Dragon Slayer, isn't it? Your true self is a fiendish brute, but after your arrest, you came to realize how terrible a person you were, and stopped trying to be like that. Well, stopped trying to be _completely _like that, if Phantom Lord is any indication."

"...Shut up..." Battler then appeared right behind Gajeel.

"You know, something like that would be rather noble if it actually wasn't pathetic. Your Dragon daddy leaves you, so you go on a tantrum? _That's _your backstory? Ha!" He then teleported to Gajeel's left. "You're just a big ol' baby, man! You want respect from your peers?" Battler teleported to Gajeel's right. "Own up to your past already! You'll probably become a better fighter, too; the Gajeel who keeps falling behind Natsu is just getting tiresome to watch!" Battler then started teleporting around Gajeel so fast that it looked like there were multiple Battlers, all of which were laughing at him. The laughter stopped, however, when Gajeel reached out a hand and somehow managed to grab the real Battler's neck.

"I SAID TO SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" The iron Dragon Slayer then proceeded to snap Battler's neck with one powerful squeeze. ...At least, he _would _have done that, if Battler hadn't turned into golden butterflies seconds before and reappeared in human form seconds later atop a gear.

"Ihihihihi. Not bad, Gajeel. However, it still lacks the ferocity of your true self. _That's _the Gajeel I want to see! You know what any other Gajeel is?" Faster than anyone could see, Battler appeared in front of Gajeel, his hands clad in blue energy, and he punched Gajeel square in the face. "Dame da(It's useless)." The sorcerer then unleashed a huge flurry of punches onto Gajeel's body. "DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME(Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless)! Zenzen...(It's all...)" Battler pulled his right arm back, "DAME DA ZE(USELESS)!" The resulting unleashed punch to Gajeel's stomach sent him flying through a wall and falling towards the ground below.

* * *

After a large amount of running, Natsu, Gray, and Jude had finally arrived at the core of the Infinity Castle where they saw Imitatia and Lucy, the latter already being absorbed by it, as evidenced by the color of her right eye turning a solid orange.

"What's up, 'Michelle'?" Natsu asked.

"...My name is Imitatia, now," she replied, coldly. "I know why you're here. You're trying to separate me from nee-san. I won't let you, though. Nee-san belongs to me, and only me!"

"Michelle..." Jude said.

"My name isn't Michelle!" Imitatia threw her flower shield at Jude only for it to be knocked back at her by Natsu.

"Don't worry, Jude, I'll make this girl see how much of an idiot she is!" Natsu exclaimed. "Ya with me, Gray?!"

"...Sorry, Natsu, but..." Gray suddenly turned around and created his Cold Excalibur, evidently using it to block a swing from Battler Bauer's Golden Key of Omnipotence, "I got my own jerk to beat down!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: So it looks like I trolled you all pretty good with Erza and Beatrice's relationship. U Mad? **

**Pie: ...Moving right along, it was also interesting to learn a bit more of Gajeel's past. Wonder when that'll get expanded.**

**Fox: In due time, my friend. The majority of the final battles are now all set! Natsu vs. Imitatia! Meredy vs. Eva-Beatrice! Erza vs. Beatrice! Gray vs. Battler! All of these exciting things are waiting to be read in the next chapter! See ya there! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	70. Breaking Point

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"You... you're kidding, right, Gray?" Natsu asked.

"What's there to joke about?!" Gray yelled. "I'm taking Battler down!"

"...You sure? I mean, he is the main bad guy right now, and I'm sort of in charge of our little group, so it makes the most sense for me to be the one to take him down..."

"He's got a point," Battler said.

"Shut up!" Gray shouted. "We're fighting, alright?!"

"...Alright..." Battler said with a disappointed look.

"What the hell's with that face?!"

"I guess I'll fight Imitatia..." Natsu said, imitating Battler's face right before walking over to Imitatia and throwing her into a wall.

"Why do you have it, too?!" As Gray yelled at Natsu, Battler's Golden Key of Omnipotence broke through Gray's Cold Excalibur, but Gray managed to jump back before getting cut. "Ice-"

"'Cannon'!" Battler shouted. Gray suddenly found himself unable to make his Ice Cannon, allowing Battler to jump over and punch him in the gut. Gray, however, used this as a chance to grab Battler's shoulder in preparation for another attack.

"Let me guess: you're gonna judo flip me over your shoulder and blast me with Ice Geyser, right?" Battler asked. Sure enough, that was exactly what Gray was going to do, and as soon as Battler said it aloud, he lost the necessary strength to perform the judo flip that would start the action.

"Again?!" Gray exclaimed. As he did, Battler's right hand became laced with blue energy as he delivered a palm strike that sent Gray flying into the wall.

"Give it up, Gray. You're not smart enough to counter my 'Chessboard Thinking'."

"'Chessboard... Thinking'? Is that your magic?"

"One of them. With it, if I 'flip the chessboard', or correctly guess what you're going to do, you lose the ability to do what you were going to do!"

"What?! There's no way something like that could be useful! In order for that to be useful, you'd have to know our fighting styles inside and out! Or are you going to tell me that, before starting this, you watched a video of every one of our fights?!"

"Yes, I watched a video of every one of your fights."

"...What?!"

"I knew Fairy Tail would become an enemy of ours during this, so I wanted to be prepared. So, using my magic, I compiled a videotape that showcased all of the fights involving your most noteworthy mages over the last decade or so. Your spells, your mannerisms, your personalities, your subconscious quirks, all of them have been memorized! I know your guild better than you do! Any thoughts of beating me are useless! They're all useless!"

"...!"

* * *

The music was Kitaoji Mizuki's _Kaiki Divertimento_. Erza and Beatrice's battle was in effect to an incredible degree. Over the course of just a few minutes, the two had exchanged blow after blow after blow, both physical and magical, of incredible strength and size. Erza's Neon Genesis Armor was all but destroyed, and Beatrice's outfit was a complete mess, what with her dress being torn and her hair bun coming undone.

"You're incredible, Erza!" Beatrice shouted. "I haven't had a fight this good in centuries! IT'S PAAFEKKTO!"

"So I guess that thing about you only being nineteen was a lie, as well?" Erza asked.

"May~be!"

"Whatever. I'm through with your games!" Erza then Requipped the Spear of Longinus and launched it at the Golden Witch.

"Hoh! Quite a powerful weapon you're throwing at me! Allow me to return the favor!

"Come, great soldier, Saint George! Bestow upon me a spear that would make even a dragon run in fear!" At Beatrice's command, a large spear appeared in the air in front of her. It had a bronze tip and a red and white striped shaft. It then flew straight at the Spear of Longinus, causing a large explosion that shattered some of the walls around them.

"What a shame," Beatrice said. "I was hoping Ascalon would break through your weapon, but they just cancelled each other out. I knew that I had heard the name, but I figured it was just a cheap knockoff. This, though, could only happen if that really was the Spear of Longinus. How did you manage to get your hands on one of the Tokkyū Shinsei Buki(Über Divine Weapons)?"

"...The what?"

"...Kuukukukukukukuku!" Beatrice guffawed. "You don't even know what it is?! No matter! It's been destroyed, so it'll take quite some time for it to restore itself! Until then... come here, Seven Stakes of Purgatory!" The music changed to Momiji Yamamoto's Gouge. Right in front of Beatrice appeared seven girls. Erza recognized one of them as Asmodeus, the girl Jellal fought before, but the other six were brand new. They all wore the same outfit as Asmodeus, but besides that, they all looked different. One had long, straight black hair, fair skin, and big red eyes, one had middle-length greenish blonde hair, fair skin, and big red eyes, one had curly, dull, bleached hair, fair skin, and big red eyes, one had long, dark hair in a ponytail, fair skin, and big red eyes, one had long brown hair, fair skin, and big red eyes, and one had brassy hair in two short drill pigtails, a fair skin tone, and big red eyes.

"The Seven Stakes of Purgatory, Lucifer of Pride..." said the one with straight black hair.

"Leviathan of Envy..." the greenish blonde said.

"Satan of Wrath..." the bleached one said, turning a little away from Erza.

"Belphegor of Sloth..." the one with the ponytail said.

"Mammon of Greed..." the brunette said.

"Beelzebub of Gluttony..." the one with pigtails said.

"Asmodeus of Lust..." Asmodeus said.

"Here!" They all shouted in unison.

"Stakes, you know what to do!" Beatrice yelled.

"Yeah!" Lucifer yelled. "Let's show this little fairy what happens when you mess with our master! Come on, girls!"

"Hai, onee-sama!" The other girls shouted. Suddenly, the seven of them all turned into stakes that flew around the room, making an odd noise whenever they bounced off the walls. Erza tried to follow them, but they moved too fast for her, and before she knew it, both of forearms were pierced by Lucifer and Leviathan with so much force that she was thrown outside and became stuck to a large chain hanging from the castle.

"The second twilight is complete, so it's time to do the fourth through eighth!" Beatrice exclaimed. "I don't want to start at four and five, so... Mammon! Sixth twilight, 'gouge the stomach and kill'!" The stake that was Mammon flew at Erza's stomach and pierced it. "Beelzebub! Seventh twilight, 'gouge the knee and kill'!" The stake that was Beelzebub flew at Erza's knee and pierced it. "Asmodeus! Eighth twilight, 'gouge the leg and kill'!" The stake that was Asmodeus flew at Erza's leg and pierced it. "You're quite tough to not be screaming from all of this."

"I didn't get to where I am... by crying when I'm hit... by some cheap little toys..." Erza said in a very smug tone.

"Kuukuku. Well, then, let's see how you handle this! Satan! Fourth twilight, 'gouge the head and kill'!" The stake that was Satan flew at Erza's head... and stopped. "Satan?"

"...I can't do it!" Satan cried before returning to human form and going into a fetal position.

"What the hell are you doing, Satan?!" Belphegor yelled, going back into her human form and running to Satan's side. "You're the stake of wrath! You're supposed to be the most ruthless one of us all!"

"I know!"

"Then why aren't you killing her?!"

"There's just too much blood all over her! I keep telling you all to have me attack our enemies at the beginning so I don't have to see this, but you never listen to me! Even though I'm supposed to be really tough and mean, blood is just really scary~!"

"Well, you know, Satan," Beatrice started, "you're going to have your own blood to be scared of if you don't get off your finely toned ass and gouge her head!" Satan then started crying in a very cute fashion. "Well, that didn't work. Maybe I should-"

CLANK

"...?"

CLANK CLANK

"What is-"

CLANK CLANK CLANK

"...What the hell?!" Beatrice finally saw what was making the noise: the stakes that had pierced Erza were all flying out of her body and hitting the floor. The Golden and Endless Witch gazed up at Erza and saw that her Neon Genesis Armor had been nearly restored in its entirety and that all of the places where she was pierced had healed over.

"The Neon Genesis Armor has a special technique called 'Dance of Israfel'," Erza said as she jumped down onto some ground outside the castle. "It allows me to heal injuries done to my body and armor, but it takes a while to charge up. As soon as those girls appeared, I knew that I would need it, and the calm demeanor you pointed out before, Beatrice, was a result of my certainty that I would be able to use it."

"How... how were you certain?!"

"Because of two things: I knew that you would torture me before finishing me off in a particularly gruesome manner, and when that Satan girl turned away from me, I knew that she had a problem with blood!"

"Dammit, Satan!" Belphegor yelled. "Your cowardice has screwed us, yet again!" Satan just sat there and cried.

"And now... Rain of Matarael!" A giant eye appeared above the Seven Stakes that immediately shot out acid rain. Unable to handle the pain, the girls were forced to vanish. Afterwards, the eye disappeared, and Beatrice flew over to where Erza was.

"You ruined my perfect kill," Beatrice said with a devilish scowl. "Just for that, I'm going to strangle you with your own bosom."

* * *

"What's there to talk about in regards to Wendy?" Jellal asked.

"That girl..." Lambdadelta began, "she's bothersome."

"...You're gonna have to specify that."

"For whatever reason, she keeps trying to be friends with Bern, and something like that just won't do."

"'Bern'? You mean Bernkastel? Why would Wendy want to be friends with her?"

"As if I know! All I know is that she's doing that, and it's driving her nuts!"

"How so?"

"Bern... doesn't understand kindness. The very idea of someone being genuinely nice to her just doesn't exist in her mind. Whenever someone tries to do that, though, she snaps entirely. It's bad for her, because it destroys her mind, and it's bad for others, because it destroys them."

"So you're implying that, by going along with your request, I'd be helping out my friends?"

"That's right! Bern doesn't need the stress of kindness, especially when she's fighting a girl who looks like 'her'."

"...Sorry, but I can't help you here."

"Huh?!"

"I may act like her father, but Wendy makes her own decisions; if she wants to try and be Bernkastel's friend, I can't stop her. Besides, if she does succeed in doing that, we in Fairy Tail would gain a powerful ally, wouldn't we?"

"You... savviness won't work here! This isn't the kind of story where everyone will be your friend by mind raping them with friendship! Wendy showing Bern niceness is gonna come back to bite her on the ass, and she'll end up a lot worse than she already is!"

"? What do you mean?"

"Oh? You didn't hear?" The Witch of Certainty put on a devilish smirk. "Bern's the one who put Wendy in the hospital."

"!"

"That's right! Wendy just didn't know when to shut up, so Bern literally tore into her. You should've seen Bern ripping out your 'daughter's' intestines! She was like a greedy child on Christmas morning, inelegantly tearing the paper away from her presents! Ooohohohohoho!"

BAM

That was the sound that reverberated through the air when Jellal's right fist, now bearing a black glove with a white "I" on the front, broke through Lambdadelta's chest.

"Sorry," Jellal said, maintaining a calm demeanor. "That last thing you said just pissed me off." Jellal pulled his fist out of the girls chest and began to walk away, but stopped when something unexpected happened: she grabbed his arm.

"So... we're going to be playing rough, eh?" Lambdadelta asked as both the hole in her chest healed and -45's _System0_ began to play. "That's fine... that's absolutely fine!" Lambdadelta held out her hand and summoned a giant jack-o-lantern that she immediately threw at Jellal, knocking him into the air. As his body flew, the Witch of Certainty threw a large, rainbow konpeitou at Jellal that exploded on contact, blasting him to the ground. The Witch of Miracles then floated up above Jellal and fired another one.

"Zero Chiten Toppa: First Edition(Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition)!" Jellal stuck out his gloved hands so that they would touch the exploding candy first. When they did, the candy became immediately frozen in a block of ice and fell a few centimeters away from Jellal. The mage soon got up, and when he did, he did an about-face to stab his opponent with a Luz de la Luna at the same time she stabbed him with a giant candy cane with an end that had been sucked on into a point. Neither one stabbed anywhere vital, but only Jellal seemed to be hurt.

"You're not like other people, are you?" He asked. The Witch of Certainty just smiled.

* * *

The music was u2 Akiyama's _Black Lilliana_, a truly fitting piece for Meredy's rematch against Eva-Beatrice.

"This won't be like the other fights, Meredy," Eva-Beatrice. "I shall bestow upon you a defeat only a Golden Witch can deliver; prepare yourself."

"..." was Meredy's response, along with a sweat drop.

"Now, come to my aide, Siesta Sisters!" At her command, the Siesta Sisters that Meredy saw back in December reappeared, except there was an additional third one. She wore the same outfit as the other two, but had long, blonde hair, and an eyepatch over her right eye.

"Siesta Sister 00, reporting for duty!" she shouted.

"And now you're going home!" Meredy shouted, firing her Maguilty Sodom at the Siesta Sisters. Unfortunately, Eva-Beatrice created a giant red spider web in front of the bunny girls that caught every sword. "?!"

"Acquiring target lock," Siesta 45 said as the golden bow and arrow appeared in her and 410's hands. "Correcting terrain measurement error. Forming firing curve. Control point revision finished. Data link to 410."

"410, data received, nihii," Siesta 410 said.

"ALL SIESTAS FIRE!" Siesta 00 said in gratuitous English. The other two immediately fired their bow. It moved fast and in a swerve-like motion, similar to a snake, but Meredy was still able to follow it. She charged Ethernano into her right leg and delivered a kick to destroy the arrow, but before a connection could be made, the arrow suddenly split into 48 pieces that flew into the air and then propelled themselves at her body, each one hitting its mark.

"Target successfully reached," Siesta 45 said.

"We got her good, nyeh!" Siesta 410 said with a grin.

"Don't let your guard down," Siesta 00 said. "Let's change the ammo type. Precision light-speed sniper bullets. Preparing precision sniping."

_This is bad...!_ Meredy thought. _If I take another hit like that... no... I've gotta attack while they're preparing to fire!_ Meredy then charged as much Ethernano as she could into her legs to give herself incredible speed, allowing her to run at the Siesta Sisters before their next shot was finished.

"Is _that_ what's going on~?!" A chilling voice said. Meredy turned her head in the midst of her run only to see Eva-Beatrice's staff collide with her face and smack her to the ground. "Niiii~ce try! However, not nice enough!" The Black Witch then picked Meredy up by her cape and flew up into the air, causing the girl to dangle. "You know, it's really annoying watching you do, well, anything, Meredy. All you do is rely on others, and it's just sickening."

"What do you mean... by that...?"

"I MEAN! You're just a snivelling brat who needs someone by her side to feel strong, and it's pathetic! At first, that person was Ultear, then it became Erza, and now it's Wendy. The only thing that's really changing is your level of attraction for the person you rely on!"

"Level of...?! What are you-"

"Ah, I'm bored now! Why don't you just bite your navel and die?!" Eva-Beatrice let go of Meredy's cape, causing her to fall towards the ground. However, before hitting the ground, she was hit by the extremely powerful arrow fired by the Siesta Sisters straight through the stomach.

"We were off our mark," Siesta 00 said. "16 unaccounted factors were at fault. Forgive us, Eva-Beatrice-sama."

"It's fine. I'll just make up for those unaccounted factors right now!" As Meredy fell, Eva-Beatrice used her magic to wrap her up in a giant spider web and throw her into a tree with incredible force. Two things happened with that action: the tree shattered, causing Meredy to hit the ground, and her right leg completely fell apart.

"My... my leg..." Meredy weakly said, reaching out for the pieces of scrap that were once her leg as the spider web fell apart.

"Oh, what? Your leg broke?" Eva-Beatrice asked as she flew down to Meredy's side. "That's too bad. But, you know, it'd be weird to just leave you unbalanced like this, so..."

SLICE

With one clean slice, Eva-Beatrice used her staff to cut off Meredy's other leg. As Meredy sat there dumbstruck, Eva-Beatrice began to smash it up with her fists, shouting insults that just didn't connect in Meredy's mind at the moment.

_...It's no good..._ Meredy thought. _…I really am... pathetic. She's right... I... all I do is rely on others... I never do anything on my own... and because of it... I'm pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic... pathetic..._

…

…

"..."

"..."

"Pathetic."

"Hm?" Eva-Beatrice asked. "What are you-" She never finished that sentence, however. Eva-Beatrice was cut off when she was tackled to the ground by Meredy. It was an unbelievable sight. The now completely handicapped Meredy had somehow jumped up and tackled Eva-Beatrice to the ground. In addition, her hair and eyes had somehow turned blood red, her skin became adorned with various triangular designs, and her face was portraying the same creepy expression that it did back in December during her fight with Erza.

"Pathetic. Meredy's truly pathetic. But, then again..." Meredy(?) then leaned in close to the Black Witch and licked her left cheek, "so are you." For the first time in her life, Eva-Beatrice was truly and utterly terrified. So terrified that she couldn't even command the Siesta Sisters to save her. Fortunately, they could plainly see that she needed it.

"ALL SIESTAS!" Siesta 00 shouted, in gratuitous English. "OPEN FI-"

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~!" Meredy(?) screeched. It was a primal instinct of the girl, however, it was coincidentally a powerful weapon right then and there.

While the Siesta Sisters are powerful, they are extremely sensitive to sound, even more so than a dog. As such, a high-pitch scream like that was able to damage them so much that they lost all power and immediately had to retreat.

"Now, then..."

* * *

"Update on Infinity Clock possession," Lucy said in a robotic voice. "Ownership has been reduced to four parties."

"Four?!" Battler shouted, dodging one of Gray's attacks like it wasn't even there. "Who went down?!"

"Eva Bauer, otherwise known as 'Eva-Beatrice'."

"What?!"

* * *

Back at the forest area, everything was an utter mess. Nearly all of the trees had fallen over, several spots were on fire, but what was most unsettling was Eva-Beatrice being crucified to a tree by Maguilty=Rays and Meredy(?) hanging from a tree branch laughing.

"What was that you said before?" Meredy(?) asked. "Oh, right. 'Why don't you just bite your navel, give up, and die~?! KHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAKKHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: ...I'm scared. And ****_I_**** wrote this. Will you hold me, Pie?**

**Pie: No.**

**Fox: But I'm scared~!**

**Pie: Then don't write stuff like this!**

**Fox: But it's cool~!**

**Pie: Then shut up!**

**Fox: ...Okay... The next chapter will definitely end Erza and Jellal's fights, and it may or may not end Gray's. Regardless, expect more awesomeness!**

**Pie: And more crazy-ass nightmare-inducing stuff.**

**Fox: Bye-bye **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	71. Death(from Stupefaction)

**Fox: Am I the only one disappointed with Minerva? Why the hell would she join a Dark Guild?! Because Sabertooth lost...? So what?! She was just a villain in name, and this makes look more pathetic than she did when she was crying! She should've just sucked it up and made some sort of dramatic declaration that Sabertooth would beat Fairy Tail next year! ...Anyway, let's get to this chapter. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

"Update on Infinity Clock possession," Lucy said in a robotic voice. "Ownership has been reduced to four parties."

"Four?!" Battler shouted, dodging one of Gray's attacks like it wasn't even there. "Who went down?!"

"Eva Bauer, otherwise known as 'Eva-Beatrice'."

"What?!"

"Alright! We've almost got this!" Natsu said as he tied Imitatia up in vines, rendering her helpless. "_Now _can I help, Gray?!"

"No! I got this!" Gray shouted.

"But I'm the Hero! Battler's the Big Bad! _I'm_ supposed to fight him!"

"Tough shit, Natsu!"

"...Fine! Don't blame _me _when you lose this fight faster than you lose your clothes, though!"

"Huh?" Gray looked down to see that he was in his underwear. "Dammit all!"

"So... nudity makes you stronger, eh?" Battler asked as he unzipped his pants.

"No, I just do it subconsciously!" Battler quickly zipped his pants back up.

"Oh... of course! Because that would be ridiculous! Ihihihihi!"

"So that sword _does _compensate for something."

"Ha ha! Dangly parts," someone said.

"SHUT UP!" Battler shouted, jumping into the air and delivering Gray a flying kick laced with blue energy.

* * *

The music was Kitaoji Mizuki's _lixAxil_. The battle between Erza and Beatrice was approaching its conclusion.

"Thunder of Ramiel!" Erza shouted, firing a laser from an octahedron surrounding her body.

"As if!" Beatrice shouted, forming a red barrier to block it.

"Strength of Zeruel!" The armor around Erza's right arm morphed as she threw a punch at the Golden Witch. However, she ended up dodging, resulting in Erza's attack hitting and destroying a chain connected to the castle.

"AAAAH! Don't do that!"

"Why?"

"If you destroy those chains, then it'll take more time for Lucy to get absorbed into the Infinity Clock!"

"...Hey, guys, guess what I just learned!" Erza exclaimed, using Telepathy to talk to the others.

"AAAAAAAH!"

"Alright, Beatrice..." Erza started, finishing her telepathic message, "do you know what time it is?" Erza then Requipped the hammer given to her by the Archaeological Society. "Hammer time!" She then started breaking all of the chains around her.

"What?!"

"This hammer has the ability to destroy evil. Why don't we see... how well it works on _you_!" Erza ran over to Beatrice and hit her with the hammer... but nothing happened. Beatrice didn't feel any pain... her body wasn't even moved an inch.

"...Was something supposed to happen?"

"?! Wha-"

"Heilig Pfeil." Beatrice fired a spiritual arrow from her hand that broke through the hammer and pierced Erza's stomach, forcing her out of the Neon Genesis Armor and putting her in her casual clothing.

"The hammer... it didn't work... That means... you aren't... evil...?"

"Wh-What?! O-Of course I am! Watch!" Beatrice took out a piece of paper and threw it on the ground. "Look! I just littered! That's _totally_ evil! ...Yes it is, Shannon! ...Not any stupider than your fake tits! ...Shut up, Kanon, she had it coming! Back me up on this, Lion! Clair!"

"...hahahaha..."

"?"

"Ahahahahaha!"

"Is something... funny?"

"Yes! You're not evil! I don't have to feel bad about it, anymore!"

"Bad about what?"

"Enjoying this so much!"

"?"

"Yeah... I don't know how it happened, but I just stopped caring about everything else. I stopped caring about the Infinity Clock, I stopped caring about your plot... I even stopped caring about saving Lucy! The only thing that started to matter was this fight, and _only _this fight! It seemed wrong of me to do that, since you're supposed to be an enemy, but now I know that I can enjoy our fight without feeling ashamed!"

"You just _now _realize your lack of shame?!" Beatrice guffawed and summoned her kiseru to take a puff. "This is merely the true essence of a game! When two players compete with all of their hearts, any and all ill will are forgotten, and there remains but one thing that binds them together: the sheer thrill of competition!"

"Indeed. Now, though, I'm going to finish this fight. Not to defeat you for the sake of the world... but to honor our incredible fight." The Fairy Queen then took a fighting stance and Requipped into a brand new armor that simply screamed power.

"Hoh?! The Nakagami Armor?! _Another _Tokkyū Shinsei Buki?! You truly are a powerful opponent, Titania. However, that armor takes a very large amount of magic to use; combine that with your injuries, and you can probably just get in one attack."

"And that's all I need. Come, Golden and Endless Witch, Beatrice. It's time for our conflict to end." Erza took a swing in the air with her halberd, slicing the space between her and Beatrice and causing the latter's body to move closer to Erza. "Nakagami Seisai!" Erza thrusted herself at Beatrice and delivered a big slash with her halberd. "This fight is- ?!" Erza was about to make her declaration of victory, but suddenly stopped when she saw dozens of golden orbs floating in front of her.

"Mugen Mahō Hissatsu: Ko Bakudan(Endless Magic Instant Kill: Small Bombs)!" The aforementioned small bombs went off, creating a series of small explosions that combined into one very large explosion. The force of it was so great that it forced Erza out of her armor.

"..." Erza turned to Beatrice with a smirk. "Good match."

"..." Beatrice turned with an identical smirk. "You, too." Both women then fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Back with Jellal and Lambdadelta, the music was Luck Ganriki's _Fishy Aroma_, and the battle was not really going in Jellal's favor. He was hitting Lambdadelta with powerful spell after powerful spell, but her body would just heal itself immediately afterwards. Not only that, but her magic was also very powerful, and her playful nature made her actions very unpredictable. At this point, fatigue was starting to take its toll on our hero.

"Gettin' tired, Jellal?" Lambdadelta asked from the air. "That's no fun at all, you know!" The Witch of Certainty fired another konpeitou at Jellal, but he just punched it back at her, causing it to explode in her face and knock her out of the air.

"I'm not here to have fun; I'm here to win," Jellal said.

"Well you're not gonna, so just enjoy yourself! A loss isn't so bad when you know that you tried your best. Of course, a win is much better, since the people around you will shower you with praise, and that's _especially_ true if they know your fight was a good one! So come on! Enjoy our fight, Jellal!" A giant present box appeared above Lambdadelta's head that immediately started to fly towards Jellal. "Enjoy it so my Bern will shower me with mega delicious praise!"

"Sorry, but I don't plan on doing things for the sake of you and your crazy girlfriend!" Jellal then fired a Gegenschein from each hand that managed to destroy the box, causing all sorts of sweets to rain down. It was such a large amount that Lambdadelta's face was being blocked from sight for Jellal, which was probably a good thing.

"...Just now... what did you say...?"

"? What do you-" Suddenly, Lambdadelta was in front of Jellal, allowing him to see a very angry face, and she delivered an uppercut that sent him flying into the ceiling and then crashing into the ground. The music then became -45's _Solitary Deep Sea Fish_.

"Just now, did you call Bern crazy?"

"Are you saying she isn't?"

"..." The Witch of Certainty simply extended her hand towards Jellal. When she did, the gravity surrounding his body suddenly intensified to an incredible degree.

_G-Gravity magic?! No way! Back in my days as a dark mage, I had connections with Grimoire Heart, and I would occasionally spar with their members, including their second-in-command, Bluenote Stinger. He was famous for his gravity magic, but this... this makes Bluenote's magic seem as strong as a refrigerator magnet!_

"...I agree with you, Jellal. Frederica Bernkastel is indeed crazy. There's no denying that. However..." Lambdadelta then walked over to Jellal, still maintaining the increased gravity and seemingly unaffected by it, and kicked him in the stomach, doing it with incredible force, "you're using the wrong kind of crazy!" She then started to repeatedly kick Jellal in the stomach, making him cough blood every now and then. "You're calling her crazy just because of what you've seen her do during this whole arc, but that's not right! She used to be a sweet kid, you know! But then she was betrayed by her family, and _that's _where her insanity comes from! You see her as evil, but you don't know anything about her, and you never will! Only _I _am allowed to know Bern! Only _I_ am allowed to understand Bern! Only _I _am allowed to protect Bern! ONLY _I _AM ALLOWED TO LOVE BERN!" Lambdadelta prepared one final kick, setting it up with enough force to tear through Jellal's stomach, but before it could connect, her foot was blocked by a hand. The Witch of Certainty looked down and saw that Jellal's body was entirely golden, indicating that he had activated Gold Experience.

"Gold Experience lets me nullify magic to a certain degree... when I'm using this, your gravity... means nothing!" Jellal then threw Lambdadelta aside as he stood up from the ground. The music shifted into Dai's _Hidamari destructive_.

"You..."

"I believe I owe you and Bernkastel an apology."

"?!"

"You're right, Lambdadelta. I know nothing about Bernkastel, so what right do I have to say such things about her? Not only that, but your dedication to defending her is very touching... it reminds of my own partner..."

"..."

"What do you say... we enjoy this fight?"

"...Heh! Like I need your permission!" Lambdadelta snapped her fingers and made a miniature black hole appear in the room, the force of its gravitational pull being too strong for Jellal to avoid.

_Well _that's _not good! I have to get close enough to punch it so Gold Experience can take effect! _When Jellal was brought into arms length of the black hole, that's exactly what he did. With a furious "MUDA MUDA MUDA", he managed to destroy the black hole, but soon came across another problem in the form of Lambdadelta stabbing him in the chest with a candy cane saber, forcing him out of Gold Experience.

"Did you think I intended on having the black hole finish you?! That was just a distraction so you would focus your energy on destroying _it _when it could've been focused on destroying _me_! That foolishness shall be your downfall and oh my god, you planned for this, didn't you?"

"Yep!" Jellal's right arm transformed into a gun barrel that he pointed at the Witch of Certainty's face. "Ki Kō Jū(Energy Hardening Gun)." Then, with a bang, Lambdadelta was left entirely headless.

* * *

"Update on Infinity Clock possession," Lucy said in a robotic voice. "Ownership has been reduced to two parties."

"Two, eh?" Battler asked aloud. "Lambda must've gotten too cocky for her own good if she actually lost. Kind of like you, eh, Gray?" The Golden Endless Sorcerer of Miracles turned to his opponent, now covered in cuts and bruises, panting heavily, barely able to stand.

"Shut... up!" Gray shouted, setting up a spell.

"Would that happen to be your Ice Impact?" Correctly guessing Gray's action, Chessboard Thinking activated, making Gray unable to cast the spell.

"This man is too much for you to handle, Gray! Especially in your current state!" Jude shouted. "Please, let Natsu take it from here, or at least let him help!"

"No!" Gray shouted.

"Will you stop being so damn stubborn, Gray?!" Natsu shouted. "The fact that _I'm _telling you this really says something!"

"No! This is my fight, not yours, Natsu!" Gray ran at Battler and threw a punch, but the Sorcerer easily dodged, got behind Gray, and put him into a Palo Special.

"This is getting really annoying, Gray!" Battler shouted. "Kind of out of character for someone in Fairy Tail to reject help, isn't it? Why would you..." Battler took a quick glance towards Lucy and put on a face that looked like he understood something. He then leaned in close to Gray and whispered, "This won't impress her, you know."

"?! What did you-" Battler kept talking in a whisper.

"I think I figured it out, so I'll underline it: The reason you are refusing Natsu's help is because you want to impress Lucy by being the hero who takes me down, right?"

"! ...That's..."

"Ihihihi! I guess love really _does _make you dumb! It made you, a mere supporting character, actually believe he had a chance against the Big Bad!"

"Supporting character?!"

"That's right!" Battler stopped his whisper. "You may hang out with the protagonist, but this isn't your story, and you're barely important enough to be a main character! So just settle down..." Battler then ended the Palo Special and threw Gray into the air, immediately using the wrestling move known as Battleship Sink, "and accept your fate as a supporting member of the cast!"

"GAH!" Gray coughed up a large amount of blood when his body hit the ground. After that, Battler let go of Gray and let his body fall flat.

"Now, then, Natsu..." Battler jumped over Gray's body so he could get directly in front of Natsu, "let's do what should have been done from the beginning, alright?"

"...Hold it..." A hand appeared on Battler's shoulder. Confused, he turned to see Gray, whom he had thought to be dead. "I didn't hear no bell..."

"Yare yare daze. You just don't know when to quit, do you? Look at yourself, Gray! You're in no condition to fight anymore! Just let Natsu handle this!"

"...You know... ever since Natsu came back from Mildea, that's sorta been everyone's mindset... 'just let Natsu handle this'. It makes sense, really. This new Natsu's smart, strong, resourceful... he's everything the old Natsu wasn't... and everything I'm not..."

"Gray..." Natsu said.

"Though, now that I think of it, even before Mildea, Natsu always did things that made me jealous. I was always calm and reserved, but Natsu was always impulsive and quick to get emotional. Even though it got him in trouble a lot, it was what everyone liked about him... and what always made him the star."

_The "star"? Has Gray always felt like this? This whole time that we've known each other, has he always looked at me with such... green eyes?_

"Maybe Natsu _is_ better than me... maybe Natsu _does_ deserve the spotlight more than I do... but so what?! If you think I'll just sit on the sidelines and let myself only get the scraps..." Gray placed his right hand on his chest, "then you're dead wrong!"

_What?! _Battler thought. _What is this?! I've seen all of Gray's fights, but nothing he's ever done would call for him to place a hand on his chest! _Then, even more suddenly, Gray's body became frozen in a block of ice. _This, too! He's never done something like this before! I can't "flip the chessboard"!_ After that, Natsu turned away from Battler and started walking away. "Where are you going?!"

"Sorry, Battler..." Natsu started, "but right now, it looks like fighting you is... useless! It's all useless!"

"?!" Suddenly, a cracking sound reverberated through the air, and Dai's _JUSTICE _began to play. Battler turned to see the block of ice that held Gray was starting to crack. A few seconds after he took notice, it fully broke apart. When it did, Gray's appearance was completely different. He was wearing a white suit with a glass face mask, green and purple designs, and ice skates.

"I may just be a side character, but even I'm allowed to be the star once in awhile!" Gray shouted. "Right here and now, with this 'White Album', I will defeat you, Battler Baueeeeeeeeeer!"

_It can't be! A... a move I haven't seen?!_

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: The battles are all winding down, and Gray has revealed his One-Winged Angel form. Stay tuned for the climactic end to his battle in the next chapter! Also, be prepared for something that'll make you scream to the stars.**

**Pie: Aren't you kinda spoiling what's gonna happen?**

**Fox: Only for those well-versed in tropes. **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	72. The Absolute Zero and the Bad Kitty

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

"White Album". Alongside "Iced Shell", it is one of the secret techniques of Ice-Making. While it doesn't hold the same danger as "Iced Shell", if used improperly, "White Album" can still be very dangerous for its caster. Because of this, while Gray has been able to use it for eleven years, he's never actually done it. ...At least, until now.

* * *

The music that played while Gray stared Battler down was zts' _DreamEndDischarger_.

_Wh-What is this?! _Battler thought with a sweat drop. _Gray... had a technique like this?! All these years, he's had a technique that no one's ever seen?!_ As Battler tried to figure out the situation, Gray skated over to him and delivered a kick, creating a fresh cut on his chest. _I... got hit?! I didn't know what he was gonna do, so I couldn't "flip the chessboard"! _In an attempt to regain control of the situation, Battler tried to cut Gray with his sword.

"White Album Gently Weeps!" Gray shouted. Suddenly, the air around Battler's right arm froze, trapping it in a block of ice and making it impossible for the Endless Sorcerer to move it.

"What?!"

"I'm not done yet!" Suddenly, a pillar of ice shot up from the ground and slammed into Battler's chest, indenting him into the ceiling.

"In... Incredible..." Jude said. "The battle was completely one-sided a moment ago, but Gray's made a miraculous comeback! Don't you agree, Natsu?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Natsu said, still a little shaken up by the realization of Gray's jealousy.

"...What the hell... do you mean... by... a comebaaaaaaaaaaack?!" Battle shouted, jumping out of the ceiling and flying towards Gray with a kick. As a means of defense, Gray froze the air in front of him to create a wall of ice, but Battler's foot crashed right through it and landed firmly on Gray's chest. "So, you think that this little move of yours has won you the match, eh? Don't be naive!" Battler threw a punch, but Gray skated away before it could connect. "I still outclass you more than you can imagine! One new move won't change that fact! Especially since it'll only be good for a little bit!"

"'A little bit'?" Gray parroted.

"That's right! The fact that it's new means nothing! Give me a minute and I'll figure out everything you can do with that 'White Album'! You're as good as dead, Gray Fullbusteeeeeeeeeeer!"

"We'll just see about that, Battler Baueeeeeeeeeeeeer!"

* * *

_...It's dark..._ was what Lucy was thinking. Time was running out for Lucy. Very soon, she would become fully absorbed into the Infinity Clock, allowing the Bloody Gulls full control of Real Nightmare. However, her consciousness still existed to a certain degree, and she was mustering all of her strength to try and be able to see what was happening.

_My dad's here... he must have came to try and help... It looks like Michelle's been defeated... Someone's fighting Battler... Natsu? ...No... that's Natsu on the sidelines... so then..._ Lucy then gained full vision of the scene, allowing her to see who was fighting Battler. _...Gray...?!_ The scene Lucy gazed upon was not a pretty one. The core of the Infinity Clock was littered with patches of ice, many of which were stained with blood. Battler looked very energetic, but there were areas of damage that couldn't be ignored. Gray's suit didn't show signs of damage, but his movements had become sluggish, his breathing rapid and heavy.

"All-Piercing Blue Truth!" Battler shouted, firing a blue energy beam at Gray.

"White Album Gently Weeps!" Gray shouted, freezing the air into a ramp that he skated on to avoid the hit. When he got to the top of the ramp, he extended it so he would slide right at Battler and punch him in the face. After the punch connected, though, Battler immediately grabbed Gray's arm and threw him aside.

"Damn!" Natsu exclaimed. "Even though Gray's been landing a lot of hits, Battler's body seems to be made of steel; he just won't go down!"

"He will now!" Gray shouted with a look of confidence. That look, however, faded when he saw Battler flash him a Psychotic Smirk.

"That next move of yours... would it happen to be using White Album Gently Weeps to freeze my nostrils and mouth shut, causing me to suffocate?" Battler asked. This, much to Gray's dismay, was indeed the plan, so Chessboard Thinking took effect, completely nullifying the action.

"?!"

"I told you, didn't I? One minute was enough for me to figure out that technique. In. Its. Entirety." Battler then snapped his fingers and made a golden wedge appear in the air behind Gray that immediately flew into a hole on the back of the suit's neck and stabbed Gray.

"GAH!"

"White Album's one weakness is the hole on the back of the neck that allows you to breathe. Normally, this can be overcome by freezing the air around the hole to form a wall of ice... but it looks like I caught you too off guard for you to do that!" Battler then punched Gray in the face, causing his mask and everything else surrounding his head to shatter. "Shirogane Boshi(Platinum Star)!" Battler threw his hands into the air like he just didn't care and called forth a shower of silver-white meteors that all crashed into Gray's general area. When the dust faded, Gray was lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, White Album broken into various pieces.

"..."

"I told you it was useless. It was all useless." Battler turned away from Gray and started walking towards Natsu.

_...Hey... get back here! I... I can still fight, dammit! I... I... I can't do this... Who was I kidding, anyway? There's no way I could've won... Battler was right... I _am _an idiot... An idiot who's gonna die... without protecting... anyone..._

_...up... _A new voice said in Gray's head.

_? This is..._

…_ase... get up..._

_This... this isn't my imagination..._

_Please..._

_Right now... in my head..._

_Get up..._

_Lucy... she's..._

_Gray!_

_Rooting for me!_

Gray had absolutely no strength left. He was nearly running on empty when he activated White Album, and after getting hit by those meteors, he shouldn't have been able to stand. However, against all odds, Gray stood up. Against all odds, he picked up one of White Album's skis. Against all odds, he ran towards Battler. Against all odds, he stabbed Battler in the back with that ski!

"...Huh..." was all Battler said before collapsing.

"Update... on Infinity Clock possession," Lucy said in a somewhat regular voice, a tear running down the left side of her face. "Ownership has been reduced to... one party!"

"I... won...?" Gray asked. "I won... I WON!"

"You sure did, man!" Natsu exclaimed. "Looks like you _did _get to be the hero!"

"Good show!" Jude said.

"Yeah... than...ks..." The miraculous burst of energy Gray had gained suddenly left, causing his body to become limp and his legs unable to support him. Both Natsu and Jude moved to catch him, but while he _was _caught, the catcher was someone very unexpected: Battler Bauer.

"Ihihihi..." he chuckled, pulling the ski out of his body. "Endless Magic automatically heals the wielder when they lose consciousness. Not quite the victory you were hoping for, I bet!" Battler's left hand became clad in a golden light as he threw it onto Gray's chest. "Come, try to remember! What kind of form did you have?! How were you doing before we fought?!" A golden light exploded in the area that lasted for but a brief moment. Battler then threw Gray over to Natsu, the latter catching the former.

"You alright?!" Natsu asked.

"...Yeah... I am..." Gray said as Natsu put him back on his feet. He then started moving various parts of his body around, feeling no pain whatsoever.

"You have my Endless Magic to thank for that," Battler said. "Probably the best healing magic in all of Earth Land!"

"You were healing me?! Why?!" Gray, remembering the situation, took up a defensive stance.

"What, was I supposed to let you die at the end of the game?"

"'Game'?"

"Did you forget? This was a game we were playing, remember? Your team would win if you could defeat me, and you did! CONGRATULATIONS(A/N: This is said in English)!"

"So... you're just... _done _fighting?!"

"Yep!"

"Bullshit! You expect me to buy that crap! You're a bad guy! You're just lying to get our guards down and kill us!"

"Not true. We in Bloody Gulls would _never _kill our enemies!"

"What about Erza and Jellal?!"

"...Yeah... Been meaning to apologize for that. Beato got a little overzealous in that fight, even though **I told everyone that they're not supposed to kill anyone**. Bernkastel was doing that, too, but I managed to step in just in time to save your little Otaku Surrogate."

"_You _helped Wendy?" Natsu asked. "Why wouldn't you just let her die?"

"There was no reason to; it's just a game, man."

"Why do you keep calling it a game?"

"Because that's what we see it as."

"Why play it, then?!"

"Because... we were _really _bored." The moment of silence created from that was great enough to allow someone to hear a pin drop.

"What."

"There's, like, _nothing _on LV nowadays! Not only that, but the women I know keep rejecting mine and Beato's offers of orgies... well, one of them is open to the sex... but only with me, and I am _not _going there right now. ...Anyway! Last week or whenever, Beato was reading this book that talked about the Infinity Clock, and we all agreed that it would be pretty damn fun to fight against people over control of it. Of course, since we were just doing it out of boredom, we wouldn't have gone through with it if we won."

"You... did all of this... because you were bored?!" Gray shouted, running at Battler to punch him. Battler, however, easily dodged and put Gray into a Camel Clutch.

"You need to calm down, Gray. Yeah, maybe this wasn't the best use of our time, but we never wanted to cause serious harm to anyone. If we did, then we all would've fought at full strength. The only ones who went all out were Virgilia, Eva-Beatrice, Bernkastel, and me, right before I got stabbed. Of course, Beato was only acting weaker because she wasn't allowed to kill."

"Bullshit!"

"Hold on, Gray," Natsu said before turning towards Battler. "What about... _her_?"

"'_Her_'?" Battler asked. "Oh! You mean Featherine? Yeah, she was definitely holding back. If I told Featherine to fight at full strength, well... your whole guild would be dead."

"...We're done fighting, Gray."

"What?!" Gray shouted.

"You remember how strong Featherine was and how she just played around with me, don't you? If they truly wanted to cause trouble, then she wouldn't have done that. Besides, now that I think back on it, I never really sensed any malice from these guys, did you?"

"...Let me up." Battler undid his Camel Clutch and let Gray stand.

"Okay!" The Golden Endless Sorcerer of Miracles exclaimed. "Thank you for playing the game with us! As it is now over in your victory, I shall now release Lucy Heartfilia from the Infinity Clock!"

"What?!" Imitatia shouted. "But..."

"Don't worry. I don't know what Bernkastel promised you when you became her furniture, but you'll be able to be with your sister after this." A small smile appeared on her face. "Now, then, any other questions?"

"Yes. Do you know what my favorite kind of scream is?" A chilling voice seemed to ask from nowhere.

"Wha-" Suddenly, zts' _the_executioner _began to play, and Battler found a small hand being run through his chest. He turned his head to see that it was none other than Frederica Bernkastel's hand.

"My favorite kind of scream... is the starscream." The Witch of Miracles pulled out her hand and let Battler fall to his knees.

_I forgot; I completely forgot!_ Natsu thought. _There was one person I sensed malice from back when they all appeared; this girl! But it's not that she simply exudes malice; it's as if her entire _being _is malice! _

"HARRO, EVERY-NYAN! HOW AH YOU? FAIN, SANKYUU!"

"OH MAI GAH!"

"I WEESH I WERE A BUHRD. ...Okay, that's enough of that. I'm going to get on with taking over this operation, Battler."

"What?" Battler asked, coughing up blood. "I thought we agreed... to treat this like a game!"

"Yes, but you didn't actually think I'd be okay with a loss, did you? No no no no. That's just not something I do, _Master_. However, I knew that you all would be fine with a loss, so I just waited on the sidelines for you all to get too tired to oppose me, making this _very _easy."

"...This is because of that Erika Furudo girl, isn't it?"

"..."

"You... you probably would've been fine with us losing, since it wasn't just you playing the game, but seeing that girl as one of our opponents... destroyed that thought."

"..."

"Come on, Bernkastel, we can still stop this here and now. There's no reason to go overboard... just because someone made you think of Ri-" Battler never finished his sentence, however, as a multitude of cats suddenly appeared and started biting and slicing him until he was just a pile of meat.

"Haven't I told you all not to act like you know me?! What, do you see as some girl crying out for help and attention?! That is not me! I am Frederica Bernkastel, the Witch of Miracles! No one is crueler than I! No one is better than I! Try as you may to surpass me, all attempts are useless! They're all useless!" Bernkastel then did a pose that would make Hirohiko Araki jealous. "Now, my cats, take care of business here!" The cats that had just put Battler through a meat grinder all ran past their master and towards Lucy, immediately headbutting her body, repeatedly, causing her body to be pushed further into the Infinity Clock goo.

"What are you doing?!" Gray shouted.

"Speeding up the process. Some of the castle's chains have been smashed, so if I don't do this, it'll take Lucy a little longer to die."

"What?!" Imitatia shouted. "But you said-"

"That I would let you be with your 'sister' if you became my furniture?" Bernkastel asked as she teleported in front of the girl. "I lied." The catgirl then snapped her fingers, causing Imitatia to turn back into a doll.

"What...?" Lucy asked as the cats pushed her further in. "Michelle? Michelle!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to see her as a human?" Bernkastel teleported in front of Lucy. Afterwards, she made a cut on the doll's stomach and started pulling out its stuffing. Then, with a malicious grin, she said, "Wish granted." What happened next was truly horrifying. The doll turned back into Michelle, but her head was now being crushed by Bernkastel's hand, there was a huge cut on her stomach, and what was once her stuffing had turned into various organs all spilling out of her body.

"Michelle!" Lucy cried.

"Nee...san..." If Michelle wanted to say anything else, it was too late, because Bernkastel, with tremendous strength, squeezed her head until it popped like a balloon.

"Michelle!" Lucy and Jude both cried, the former as her body was fully pushed into the Infinity Clock.

"Michelle is now dead," Bernkastel said with a long, evil laugh that drowned out everyone's screams. Well, except for the Dragon Slayer activating Dragon Force.

"BERNKASTEEEEEEEEEL!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: So, according to this week's splash page, Sting's the new master of Sabertooth. ...Why?! I'm sorry, but do they **_**really**_ **want to be run by a nineteen-year old pussy like Sting Eucliffe?!**

**Pie: If they thought they had some pride left, it's all gone, now.**

**Fox: Yep. Anyway, the next two chapters will be completely dedicated to Natsu and Bernkastel's fight, but expect some surprises to be mixed into it! Also, I hope you all knew what that stuff Bernkastel said is from. If not, you need to read more manga/watch more anime. Later! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story!**


	73. Tea party I

**Fox: Remember all the way back in the Tenrou Island arc when I said that Meredy and Zancrow used to go out?**

**Pie: Yeah.**

**Fox: No, you don't.**

**Pie: ...Oh.**

**Bern: Doing a little Retcon to justify Meredy's homosexuality, eh?**

**Fox: ...Don't you have a protagonist to fight?**

**Bern: That implies the possibility of failure. I'm going to kill Natsu... and then I'm coming after you two.*Vanishes***

**Fox: Bye, now!**

**Pie: Wait, what was that last part? **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

"Do you _have _to dramatically shout my name, Natsu?" Bernkastel asked. "What is that, six times it's been done in this arc now?"

"Shut up!" Natsu shouted. "You've pissed me off too much, you little witch!"

"Ah, insult me by calling me what I call myself already. How _do _you come up with this stuff?" The Witch of Miracles opened up her hand to reveal a small crystal that she immediately threw against the ground. After it shattered, a mansion resembling the mansion of Kyu-Furukawa Gardens rose up from the ground and trapped both of the mages inside.

"Natsu!" Jude shouted.

"Hang on, man!" Gray shouted, blasting the side of the building with ice to make a hole. Unfortunately, his attack did absolutely nothing. "Huh?!" After seeing that the attack failed, words suddenly appeared in the air that read "**This mansion can only be entered and exited through human means. Magic is not involved in any way."**

"So, it's a closed room, eh? She's really serious about going against me, then."

"Well, what do we do, Battler? ...Wait... Battler?!" Gray turned in shock to see Battler Bauer, well... alive.

"Who were you expecting? Daisuke Ono?"

"No, and I certainly wasn't expecting you! I thought you died!"

"I got better. Wouldn't be the first time I was reduced to a pile of meat."

"What?"

"Nevermind. The point here is that if we want to help Natsu, we need to find the flaw in this closed room, and I'm the only one who can do it."

"Is it truly impossible to simply destroy a wall?" Jude asked.

"In theory, no. However, since this mansion is supposed to be broken through with logic, force would take an incredibly long time. If we went that route... Natsu would have long since died."

"What?!" Jude and Gray exclaimed, simultaneously.

"You know how I said that Featherine is strong enough to kill your entire guild? That wasn't an exaggeration. She's that strong. Much, much, _much _stronger than I am. Truth be told, out of the seven of us, only Virgilia and Eva are weaker than me. Featherine outclasses me, and the others are all around my level, including Bernkastel. If we don't take care of this closed room fast... your friend's a goner."

"!"

"Not only that, but if I know that girl, she's probably putting him through unimaginable torture as we speak..."

* * *

"More brisket, Natsu?" Bernkastel asked. The Dragon Slayer, still clad in Dragon Force, simply nodded his head, and the girl put a piece of meat on his plate that he soon started eating. In case you're having trouble following, the two of them were in the dining room of the mysterious manor where, rather than fight, they were enjoying a meal, of all things.

"You know, I _should _be saying something heroic..." Natsu started, "but this food is really good!"

"Thank you."

"This mansion is also really impressive."

"It should be. I _did _major in architecture."

"What was your minor?"

"Disembowelment."

"...Okay, I think I'm done with this meal, now." Natsu fired his Crossfire Hurricane Special at Bernkastel, but she teleported out of the way, appeared behind Natsu, and kicked him into a wall. Zts' _the_executioner _played as soon as that happened.

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me? That you can save your friends from me? How do you expect to save your current friends from me when you couldn't even save your old friends from Shagorra?"

"?! You... you know about Shagorra...?!"

"Just a bit. I don't know everything, but I _do _know that it's because of your screw up against him that Mavis Vermillion died and Zeref became known as a villain."

"!"

"If you'd like to know more, then I'd suggest trying to defeat me!" The Witch of Miracles flung a blue saber at Natsu, but he used Karyū no Kyōkaen to easily block it.

"...You wanna fight that badly? ...So be it!" Natsu then jumped at Bernkastel and unleashed an incredible flurry of punches, all of which were barely dodged. Natsu felt proud that he was able to keep his opponent on her toes so much, but in actuality, that wasn't what was happening. While it was true that Bernkastel was barely dodging Natsu, this was merely because she _chose _to dodge in such a manner. If she wanted to, she could make it so his punches never came near her. But, being the cruel person she was, she instead allowed Natsu to build up useless confidence in order to make her eventual victory more satisfying upon crushing it.

_God, Beatrice went down, Eva-Beatrice went down, _Lambda _went down... this has been one giant mess, _Bernkastel thought to herself. _This is just like that chocolate terrorist attack, only the Siesta Sisters aren't around to dig the holes._

"Karyū no Kōen!" Natsu unleashed his explosive flame, but his opponent easily dodged and appeared behind him.

"This may be a little off-topic, but how good are you at digging holes?"

"Why do-"

"I mean, besides the one you've already dug yourself into."

"DON'T YOU MOCK ME! Karyū no Ryūjin Jakka! Zanka no Tachi!" Natsu started slashing at Bernkastel with his black flame blade, but, as before, she easily dodged his attacks. "Kita: Tenchi Kaijin!" Natsu released a giant blast of fire towards his opponent that appeared to have engulfed her, whole, but when the flame cleared, she was completely unschathed. "...You've gotta be shitting me..."

"So, are we done playing children's games, Natsu," Bernkastel then walked up to Natsu and started wagging her tail in his face, "or do I have to tickle you? Eh, eh? Cootchy coo, cootchy cootchy cootchy coo!"

"Rrrgh... stop messing around!" Natsu threw his right arm up in the air. "GIGA! FLAME!" Suddenly, a giant drill-shaped flame appeared around Natsu's arm, "BREAKER!" Natsu's legs ignited and propelled him towards Bernkastel like a rocket.

_Oh, and I should get Lambda something when this is all done. Perhaps some wine... a gift basket?_ As Bernkastel pondered this, she kicked the side of Natsu's flame drill, sending him off course and into a wall. _Or maybe gift baskets _with _wine._

"No... no way..." Natsu said, picking himself up. "That was one of my strongest spells... and you... so easily, you..."

"'Blocked it'? Indeed, I did. Now, Natsu, it's time for you to die. Like a little... bitch. But first, let me tell you a tale." Bernkastel flew over to Natsu and smacked him with her tail with enough force to send him flying to the other side of the room. "The end."

* * *

"I could use small bombs to create a force that would be small enough in size to be undetected, yet large enough in power to open the chain lock!" Battler shouted, sending a blue wedge at the door of the manor to open it. Unfortunately, the wedge bounced off the door, and on said door, the words "**Knox's 4th: It is forbidden for unknown drugs or hard to understand scientific devices to be used," **appeared.

"Damn!" Jude shouted. "I was certain that small bombs were the solution!"

"He's tried that ten times, though!" Gray shouted. "Do you really know what you're doing, Battler?!"

"Of course!" Battler shouted. "It's just that the rules of mystery make solving it rather difficult, especially since it's unclear if they're in effect, to begin with!"

"Well, maybe you should-" Gray was cut off when he was hit in the side of the head by a piece of popcorn. "Huh?" Then, out of a pink cloud accompanied by the word "POOF!", right in front of the three men appeared Jellal and Lambdadelta. "Jellal, what are you doing with that girl?! Did you betray us again?!"

"No, you idiot," Jellal said. "By now, you've surely heard that these people were just screwing around, right?"

"...Oh, yeah..."

"Good. However, from what I've been told, 'Bernkastel', as she is called, has taken control of things and is serious about using Real Nightmare."

"That's why I, the great Lambdadelta, have decided to lend you all a hand!" The Witch of Certainty exclaimed.

"...Weren't you defeated?" Gray asked.

"Oohhohohoho! As if the likes of Jellal could defeat the MAGNIFICENTLY FABULOUS me(A/N: The capitalized words are said in English)! Ooohohohohohoho!" As Lambdadelta laughed, she threw her head back to really let it out, but when she did, her head... fell off her shoulders. "...Little help, Jellal?" Jellal sighed, picked up her head, and used Texture Surprise to sew her head back on.

"...What the hell~?!"

"Allow me to speak," Battler said. "Lambda uses a Lost Magic known as 'Candy Body', allowing her body to turn into cotton candy. This gives her regenerative properties that are so strong, she can come back from a single cell. It's in effect so long as she has magic, and with her incredible amount of it, she basically has it up, 24/7."

"INDEED!" Lambdadelta shouted in English as her head was fully re-attached. "Now, then, I'll just use my magic to make it certain that you can break through this closed room with just one little attack."

"Hold on," Gray said. "Isn't the cat girl your girlfriend, or something? Why would you go against her?"

"It's true that Bern is my precious love, but as much as she's my lover, she's my rival. That's why I'd love nothing more than to see her beautifully anguished face when she's faced with defeat! If I could, I would hook hundreds of metal contraptions into her skin in such a way that that face would permanently stick!"

"...You're a bit insane in the membrane, you know that?"

"I'm a well known practitioner of schadenfreude. Now, then..." The Witch of Certainty held her hands out towards the manor. "Zetty, certaintai, zetty, certaintai..."

* * *

Back inside the mansion, things were not looking good for Natsu. The battle had ended up in the parlor, and he was facedown on the ground, practically out of magic, and hadn't even made a scratch of Bernkastel.

"Well, this was fun, I suppose..." Bernkastel said. "It looks like I've thoroughly stomped your curb, so now all I require is your surrender for this to be satisfying."

"...Well, then... you're not... getting satisfied..." Natsu weakly said. "If you think... I'll surrender to... to someone who treats... their friends so badly... you're... wrong..."

"Really? _That's _why you won't surrender? Ahahahahaha! That's so naive, Natsu! Those people aren't my friends! They're merely my associates! Besides Lambda, I could care less for any of them! The idea of 'friendship' is just a stupid and utter lie! The very idea that people can get along with each other and cooperate without wanting anything in return is a farce! No matter how close you think you are to someone... it all falls apart." Bernkastel's sneer became a face of slight sorrow. "Yeah... no matter how strong you think a bond is, it breaks at some point. You think you're close to your friends right now, but it just takes one thing to destroy it all. 1 year from now, 2 years, 5 years... eventually, you'll just be alone, so there's no point in trying to fight that... so..." A black scythe appeared in Bernkastel's hands, "don't go off preaching about annoying falsehoods like that in front of me!" The Witch of Miracles swung her blade at Natsu's neck to decapitate him, but was cut off when the wall behind her suddenly broke. Confused, she turned around to see Battler and co. standing at the hole, Jude in a position that suggested he punched the wall down.

"Lambda..." Bernkastel growled.

"What's with that, Bern?" Lambdadelta snickered. "You didn't think I'd just do _nothing _once you started to go against our guild, did you~?"

"Hmph. In hindsight, I should have guessed this would happen. However, I'm still annoyed by this, so when we have sex tonight, I'm going to take longer to make you climax."

"Aww~!"

"Can we get on with this?!" Gray and Jellal shouted.

"Yes, yes we can," Battler said, having teleported to Natsu's side while they were all talking. ""Come, try to remember. What kind of form did you have? How did you live, oh so long ago?" Natsu's body was bathed in a golden light for a brief moment. When it faded, Battler teleported back to the others.

"You healed him? That's it?" Bernkastel asked. "So what? I've barely broken a sweat against him, so bringing him back to full strength won't do a-" The Witch of Miracles' rant, however, was stopped mid-sentence when she noticed something odd: Zts' _the_executioner_, which had been on loop the whole time, suddenly became Yasuharu Takanashi's _Dragon Slayer_. "What?! Who's playing this crap in place of our usual electronic dubstepperry?!" Hearing that the music was coming from behind her, she turned, only to be shocked, once again. This time, though, the shock was a visual one. Natsu was standing up, his injuries appearing to be fully healed, and he shot the Witch an icy glare. Normally, that would mean nothing to her, but for some reason, Natsu exuded a completely foreign aura that made her step back a little.

"You... who the hell are you?! What the hell did you do, Battler?!"

"Heh. The magic Eva, Virgilia, Beato, 'that one', and I use, Endless Magic, is often thought to be just a healing magic. It's much more than that, though; it is a magic capable of restoring anything to how it once was."

"! You... you didn't...!"

"Oh, but I did, Bernkastel. I used my magic to restore Natsu's memories. The memories of the man who was once the strongest mage in the world!"

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: Next chapter shall be the dramatic conclusion to the fight and arc, so don't miss it! Now, though, it's time for something that I just haven't felt like doing, lately! That's right. It's time for...**

* * *

**Wendy: FAIRY CHANNEL! That's some "Fairy" good weather, right?! I come with a dreamer's heart to spread love again! I'm **_**Fairy Channel's **_**navigator, Wendy Marvell!**

**Fox: And I'm the assistant, FoxOnPie.**

**Wendy: We've already reached the eighth episode of this program.**

**Fox: True, but what's even more impressive is us already being at chapter 73. If we don't come up with some fresh material, we'll be accused of abusing mannerisms.**

**Wendy(In deep voice): What was that?**

**Fox(Thought): ...What am I doing?!**

**Fox(Talking): No. I just wanted to try some new things...**

**Wendy: You said it.**

**Fox: You know...**

**Wendy: Do it.**

**Wendy(In cute voice): That's right! I was walking around town the other day, and someone came up to talk to me.**

**Fox: Was it some salon doing a survey?**

**Wendy: Geez, Mr. Fox. Do you actually mean that? It was obviously a fan. Of course, that would never happen to you, right?!**

**Fox: I-I-I-I-It wouldn't!**

**Wendy: ...That's true, right?! You're the assistant, right?! Well, keep workin' hard! Gahahahahaha!**

**Fox: B-But... I've already received a ton of messages from fans!**

**Wendy(In her deep voice): H-How?! Hey, Itou! Haven't I got any?! Only one? "Your membership has almost expired..." Hey! This is that stupid online service!*The theme music goes off* **

**Wendy(In her cute voice): Well, that's all the time we have for today.**

**Fox: Look forward to the next **_**Fairy Channel**_**!**

**Wendy: Bye-bee!*Curtain drops***

**Wendy(In deep voice): I bet if I was one of the main characters, I would've gotten some real mail. What's with this? Like I have a chance in hell.**

**Fox: No, you can't be too sure. Though, if you want to get technical, that mail you got wasn't actually real.**

**Wendy: What are you talking about? This is-*Screen fades to black* **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	74. Tea party II

**Fox: Internet dwellers, REJOICE! **_**FTR **_**is now the first ever **_**Fairy Tail **_**fanfic to have a TVTropes page(not counting **_**Fairy Without Wings**_**, which is a crossover)! Go check it out, and add what you feel needs to be added!**

**Pie: We especially need help with the character sheet. If you decide to take a crack at that, Natsu is the Protagonist, Zeref is the Deuteragonist, and Mavis is the Tritagonist. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Outside of the Infinity Castle, Meredy, back in her normal appearance, slept on the ground. However, she immediately woke up and sat up when an important thought entered her sleeping mind.

"I have to pee!" Okay, maybe not that important. "Wait, what am I doing outside?"

"I brought you here after you passed out. You're welcome," said the voice of the person emerging from a swarm of golden butterflies that Meredy really didn't want to see.

"Eva-Beatrice!" Meredy tried to jump away, but she immediately remembered that her artificial legs had been destroyed.

"No need to be so defensive; the game's over, after all."

"'Game'? What 'game'?!" Eva-Beatrice then told Meredy everything that Battler had told Natsu, Gray, and Jude not too long ago. She also informed her of Bernkastel taking over the operation. "You've gotta be shittin' me..."

"I am not 'shittin' you', Meredy. Now, then, I'm going to fly back to the castle and start destroying those chains. Get on my back so you can help with that."

"What?! You've got some nerve to think I'd want to work with you after what you've done!"

"We were just playing a game. Now, hurry up! I don't want to lose to my predecessor. Her constant bickering with Titania is slowing her down, but that'll only do so-"

"I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about how you tried to make me kill myself!"

"...Huh?"

"Don't try to play dumb, you bitch!"

"...Oh, right! That! I lied."

"You can't talk your way out of- ...wait, what?"

"I lied. I didn't do anything of the sort."

"...What?! But... but you said it in Bold, didn't you?!"

"I said that I gave you a push, but I never said what kind. I was actually referring to a physical push I gave you right before your surgery." Meredy was completely dumbfounded by this troll.

"Then... why were you even there?!"

"You know how in videogames, usually RPGs, you fight the final boss early on in the game and get creamed? That's what I was doing. Though I kind of messed up by letting myself get beat." Once again, the trolling left Meredy dumbfounded.

"Then... then... why did you do that at all?!"

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people. Secondly..."

"'Secondly'...

"...Nope, that's it." Meredy felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on her head. She had a lot to say to the Black Witch(or, at least, she thought she did), but seeing the situation at hand, she pushed it aside and climbed onto Eva-Beatrice's back.

"It's not like I'm forgiving you, or anything. It's just that... I'm too confused to be mad at you..."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Eva-Beatrice started to fly into the air.

"Also, shouldn't we be helping in the fight against Bernkastel?"

"No. I think that'll be resolved pretty soon."

* * *

"Will things... ever be the same again...?" Mavis asked. Once again, the story has shifted to the distant past. Natsu, Zeref, and Mavis are sitting in the back of a carriage. Mavis is rubbing her stomach with a worried expression, and Natsu and Zeref are looking into the distance, the exact nature of their faces unable to be declared.

"...No... nothing will be the same again..." Zeref said. "Our friends... our homes... we can never go back to them. All we can do now is run... run from him..."

"Though, with the beating you gave that bastard, I think it'll take awhile for him to get to us," Natsu said with a forced smile, clearly an attempt to liven up the situation.

"...I just wish I had done it when I first met Shagorra, like my gut was telling me to do. I also wish that thinking it would take 'awhile' was realistic." Zeref opened his mouth to say something else, but immediately stopped when he saw two petite pinkies shoot out near his and Natsu's faces.

"Promise me," Mavis said. "Promise me that you won't leave me. Promise me, that... no matter what... we can all stay happy... and, one day, make Fairy Tail, just like we talked about as kids...!"

"...I promise, Mavis," Zeref said, wrapping his pinky around hers.

"...I promise, Mavis," Natsu said, wrapping his pinky around hers. The girl immediately beamed and hugged them both.

* * *

_I broke that promise... the greatest promise I ever made to my best friends... for that, I am truly sorry..._ These were Natsu's, or, rather, the original Natsu's thoughts in the present as he stared down Frederica Bernkastel.

"...So what?" The Witch of Miracles asked aloud. "So what if you _were _the strongest man in the world 400 years ago? Like that matters now." She then teleported right in front of Natsu. "The true aspects of magic had barely even begun to surface at that point. That sort of title from back then hardly means a thi-" We will never be completely certain about exactly what she was going to say. That would be quite hard to do, since she was just punched in the face.

For those familiar with a certain website, you will know the term "Glass Cannon". This refers to a person who is incredibly strong, but, in all honesty, can't take a punch. While it might be a tad informal, this term perfectly describes Frederica Bernkastel.

"...AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She screamed. "You sonuva bitch! You punched me in the-" POW. "Argh! Gah! You did it again! Y-" POW. "Daah! Stop it! Stop it! Stop-" POW. "Piss!" _What did Auaurora say to do in this situation?!_

* * *

"Bern," Featherine started, "if you ever find yourself being repeatedly punched in the face, always remember to-"

* * *

POW.

"Gahhh! Ow! You cut off Auaurora!"

"...Do you plan on dodging?" Natsu asked.

"Ohhhh! _That's_ what Auaurora-"

POW.

"OW! LAMBDA! SUPPORT!"

"Well, you've got very nice breasts, you're hair's a beautiful shade of blue, and, frankly, you're the only one I can rely on on this team," Lambdadelta said.

"I MEANT PUNCH HIM, YOU DUMB BITCH! Aigghhh! Oh but thanks, you know? That really cheered me-"

POW.

"Dahhh! God I think he broke something that time!"

"...Stop all of this," Natsu said.

"Ha?! You really think I'll stop just because you tell me to stop?! You'll have to do better than that if you want to get Lucy back!"

"...I don't care about Lucy."

"?"

"What?" Jude asked.

"What do you mean you don't care, Natsu?!" Gray shouted.

"Am I supposed to care for someone I've never met?" Natsu asked.

"'Never met'...?! The hell are you-" Battler's arm went in front of Gray, signaling for him to stop.

"This isn't _your _Natsu, Gray; it's the original Natsu who existed 400 years ago," Battler said. "While he does know everything your Natsu does, he's a completely different person who has had completely different experiences; it's only natural that he wouldn't show concern for the friends of _your _Natsu."

"Then... why's he even fighting?!"

"Yes. Why _are _you even fighting?" Bernkastel asked, regaining a bit of her composure. "What? Do you see yourself as some sort of hero who does good for the sake of good? Is it something that naive and cliche?"

"Hardly," Natsu said. "The only reason I'm fighting you is because of what you said in regards to Shagorra."

"Ha? Did I strike a nerve by bringing up your greatest failure?"

"...You have no idea what you're talking about."

"?"

"You say you understand what happened, but you're just an observer, looking at what's been told to you long after fact. There's no way you can understand that... no way you can understand me... and it pisses me off."

"...You're complaining... about me... not understanding you...?!"

_Uh-oh..._ Lambdadelta thought with a sweat drop.

"What is that...? What the hell _is _that...?! You think you're some sort of enigma?! That you can't be seen through?! You're wrong! _I'm _the enigma! _I'm _the one who can't be understood! And... _I'M _THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO GET UPSET ABOUT SUCH A THIIIIIIIIIIING~~!" At the end of her scream, a massive pack of cats emerged from Bernkastel's shadow and jumped towards Natsu. "Trash him, kitties! Dye your fangs red with Dragon blood, once more!"

"...Kasō(Cremation)." A small fireball appeared above the cats that exploded into a downpour of large flames, destroying all of the cats that were caught in it. This however, didn't destroy all of them, as some were able to grab onto Natsu. "...Hatsunetsu(Exotherm)." Despite the cats' valiant effort, though, it was worthless, as an incredible heat wave exploded from Natsu's body, causing all of the cats to melt.

"Worthless furballs...!" The Witch of Miracles then threw up her right hand and summoned an even larger pack of cats. This time, though, the cats all jumped on top of one another until they formed the whale that ate Wendy. "GO! KILL HIM!" The whale of cats, following its master's orders, flew at Natsu.

"...Kyūnetsu(Endotherm)." Suddenly, Natsu's body became covered in flames. At first glance, one would think that he would use this to fight, somehow, but that wasn't the case. The reason the flame existed was that Natsu's body was getting so hot that the surrounding air was becoming ice cold. So cold, in fact, that before the whale of cats could so much as breath on Natsu, it became frozen solid, shocking everyone. After it fell to the ground, the Dragon Slayer picked it up by the tail and threw it on top of the Witch of Miracles who was too dumbfounded to make any sort of attempt at dodging.

"..." Bernkastel soon broke out through the back of the whale, her body showing signs of serious damage.

"Damn..." Battler said. "I knew he'd be strong, but this Memetic Badass strong...!"

"Do you still wish to fight me?" Natsu asked.

"You... you..." Bernkastel spat, a little blood trickling out from her mouth. _This can't be! Is he really stronger than me?! Is he really beating me?! Is he... is he..._ Bernkastel fell onto all fours and vomited, _is he really going to cause me to be denied...?!_

_Of course! _A voice said in her head.

"! No..."

_Did you honestly think you had a chance?_ A second voice said.

"Stop it..."

_It'd be weird for a loser like you to win, to win!_ A third voice said.

"Go away!" Bernkastel jumped up against the nearest wall. "Stay away from me!"

"No... not this..." Lambdadelta said with a sad expression.

"What's going on?" Jellal asked.

"The voices are back..."

"'Voices'? What 'voices'?" Jellal didn't get an answer to that.

"Leave me alone!" Bernkastel shouted.

_Why should we?_ A fourth voice asked. _All we are doing is reminding you of what a failure you are._

_No matter how much you try and fight it, you will always have to return to the simple fact that you are "a person that doesn't need to exist", _A fifth voice said.

_Everything about you is an utter eyesore!_ A sixth voice exclaimed. _Why is someone like you still alive?!_ The six voices all started laughing.

"Shut up!" Bernkastel shouted. "I have the right to live! My life is my pride!"

_Is that right?_ Bernkastel twitched when she heard this voice. Turning to the right, she saw(though no one else did) the face of the girl she once called "onee-san".

_I couldn't care less about your pride. How long are you going to stay in this pathetic state? You have the same blue hair as me; you are my body double. How long are you going to shame yourself?_

_Looks like I have to do everything myself, after all. Relying on you was a mistake._

_What a drag. I don't need you, at all. I'll just throw you away. Oh, wait, I already did, so I guess someone else will do that, you disappointing, retarded, despaired, regrettable failure!_

_Do it quickly, you piece of crap! Aren't you going to prove the worth of your existence, you goddamn waste of space~?!_

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The Witch of Miracles got on her knees and howled.

_I don't like this..._ Lambdadelta thought. _This isn't the anguished face of Bern's that I wanted to see. This face... this face is utter despair, and that's terrible!_

"You... you...! YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU~~~! I, Lady Frederica Bernkastel, the Witch of Miracles, shall prove myself against you! You shall not ridicule me any longeeeeeeeeer~!" Was she talking to Natsu? Was she talking to someone else, entirely? The correct answer is very hard to arrive at. "Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakko, Kuku neto, burarro kyakkoooooooooooooooooo!" Suddenly, a blue light shot out from the ground that burst through the ceiling of the manor. When it faded, standing where Bernkastel had just stood was a giant, blue, Yamata no Orochi. Where was the Witch of Miracles, you ask? Her body seemed to have become fused with the beast from the hips down, and what remained could be seen sticking out of one of the monster's heads.

"Rejoice, foolish fool! It's not everyday that I am pushed so far that I resort to this! Now go ahead and die, you irritating ghost of the paaaaaaast!" All eight heads flew out towards Natsu, but despite that, he still maintained his stoic composure.

"...You people in Bloody Gulls are fond of games, right?" Natsu asked. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not all too familiar with them, but I do understand the core concept of games: you need two to play. I'm sorry, little witch, but you're gonna have to find yourself a new opponent." Suddenly, a great flame shot out from Natsu's back, and from there, he took on an appearance that looked very familiar to Gray.

"That's... that's the form Natsu took on back at Tenrou Island...!" He exclaimed.

"...Since it might be awhile before you all see this version of 'Natsu Dragneel' again, I'll inform you a bit in regards to what this is. This, faithful observers, is the utmost limit to a Dragon Slayer's power. It is the highest point we can reach, while still maintaining both our sanity... and our humanity. It is called... Dragon Force 2!" A thin ring of fire then appeared in front of Natsu. "Arc... Giga... Flame... BREAKEEEEEEEEER!" Suddenly, out from the circle came a giant drill made of blue fire. It met the heads of the Yamata no Orochi head on. The two entities clashed for a moment, but only a brief one, as the drill tore through the beast with its tremendous power and engulfed its remains in a fiery explosion. When the explosion cleared, the Witch of Miracles was shown lying on her back, clothes burnt, blood all over her face.

"This... can't be... I... lost...?" She asked herself. "I lost... That means... I'm a loser... That means... I'm not cared about as much... That means... my existence doesn't matter as much... That means... That means..."

_Nipah~!_ was the word that sounded through her mind.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Bernkastel then proceeded to beat her head against the ground while shouting "GODDAMMITSHIT!" over and over again. She stopped, however, when a warm hand found its way to her shoulder. "...Lambda..."

"...HEY!" She shouted, right in Bernkastel's ear. "STUPID VOICES! Stop trying to make Bern feel bad! I'm the one who loves her, so I'm the only one allowed to do that! If you, or anyone else, tries to upset her, I'll be right there to mega fabulously kick all of your asses!"

"Lambda..."

"You got that, Bern? I'm the only one who's allowed to upset you, but you know how far I'll go, already. So there's no reason to get like this, right?"

"..."

"Let's go..." Lambdadelta hugged her partner as both of their bodies broke apart into dust that was immediately carried away with the wind.

"That Lambda..." Battler remarked. "Bernkastel might do some crazy stuff, but Lambda always manages to keep her grounded..."

"...With this, we're done, right?" Natsu asked, exiting Dragon Force 2. Battler gave a silent nod. "Good. Well, Gray... it looks like your... friend will be... safe... after... all..." Natsu fell over, his consciousness completely lost.

* * *

_...Where am I?_ was what Natsu asked himself. After Battler jumped in to heal him, Natsu's mind went completely blank. The next thing he knew, he was in a completely black void with nothing in it but himself. _Seriously, where the hell am I?!_

_The Darkness of the Mind, _said a surprising voice. Surprising, because... it was the same as Natsu's. _The place where your most valued thoughts are kept out of reach..._ A figure then appeared in front of the Dragon Slayer, _and where I dwell._

_You... you're me!_

_That is one way to look at it. Indeed, I am "you". However, I am the original "you"._

"_Original"... you mean... the "me" from 400 years ago?!_

_Precisely._

_Whoa... come to think of it, that would explain why you look a _little _different that me. _This statement was true, on closer inspection. While the original Natsu wore the same clothes as the current Natsu[minus the trademark scarf(this also revealed that he had no scar on his neck)], he seemed to be taller by about six centimeters. His pink hair was also adorned with snow white tips, and his jawline was covered in short, auburn hair. _How are we talking, exactly?_

_In order to stop Frederica Bernkastel, the mage called "Battler Bauer" used his Endless Magic to restore your memories and make you strong enough to defeat her. When that happened, the wall that typically separates us was broken, allowing us to be in contact with one another._

_Wait... does this mean when I wake up, I'll remember everything?! _The original Natsu shook his head.

_Unfortunately, despite the strength Endless Magic holds, it couldn't break down the walls permanently. They've already begun to reform. By the time you wake up, you won't remember anything outside of what you've already learned._

_...What about... this conversation?_

_No. You should be able to remember that._

_Then... in that case... tell me who Shagorra is!_

…

…

…

_...If it's too hard, I get it. You don't have to if you don't-_

_Shagorra is an evil man._

_!_

_He is the summation of everything that is wrong in the world. And he... he won't stop until all of Earth Land is reduced to rubble._

_How, though? It seems like he existed 400 years ago, but from what that Klaus guy said, he's alive now! How can that be?!_

_...In the era Shagorra originally lived in, he was a very innovative man. He spent most of his time creating magic that was far ahead of its time. Most of have been lost with the ages, and only a few have resurfaced under the label of "Lost Magic", but amongst all of the magic, there was one he prided himself the most on, and one that was the most terrible: "Soul Bondage"._

"_Soul Bondage"?_

_When the caster of Soul Bondage is on the verge of death, all they have to do to activate it is place a hand on a living being and keep it there until their life fades away. After that, the caster's soul... takes control of that person's body._

_?!_

_After that... it gets worse. The soul of the caster is not bound to the world the same way the soul of the vessel is, so when the vessel dies, the caster's soul doesn't ascend to heaven... or, in this case, go to hell. The caster's soul merely lingers through the air... until it finds another host._

_?!_

_Fortunately, it can't be done immediately, the vessel is random, and it takes awhile for the caster's soul to take over. However... for the last 400 years, Shagorra, thanks to Soul Bondage, has been taking control of innocent people, and for whatever reason, in whatever year it happens, his soul fully takes control... on July 7th._

July 7th.?! Natsu thought to himself. _How has he been suppressed this whole time, then?! Is he the reason the Dragons disappeared?! Why does he want to destroy the world?! ...What did he to the three of us?!_

_...To answer your first question, I'm not sure, but I trust that someone figured out a way to track his soul and kill each vessel before he could fully manifest._

…

_For the second question... yes._

_!_

_As for the others... I can't answer them..._ The original Natsu put a hand to his face. _Talking about this... remembering all of this... it's thrown my emotions into too great a frenzy...! Besides, there's not enough time to explain it all, properly._ When that was said, Natsu suddenly started to become transparent. _The walls are reforming. I can't be of anymore help to you. If you want to learn more of the truth, you'll need to find another way to do so...!_

…

_...However..._

"However"?

_I think I have time... to show you something rather pleasant._ A white orb appeared in-between the two of them. From there, a video started playing.

* * *

"I said leave, brats!" A rather obnoxious voice shouted. It belonged to a little boy with pink hair wearing beat-up shorts and a torn, blue jacket standing in front of a hollowed-out tree. "This forest belongs to me and me alone!"

"No kid can own a forest, moron," a voice snarked. It belonged to a little boy with black hair wearing a black, V-neck top with a white collar, blue pants, and navy blue shoes. "And calling us brats is like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?"

"Are you calling me a brat?!" The pink haired boy's face was now inches away from the black-haired boy's.

"If the shoe fits." The two stared at each other angrily for a bit until their focus was destroyed by laughter. Said laughter came from a little blonde-haired girl dressed in a black sailor uniform.

"You two are funny, you know that!" The girl exclaimed. The two boys, confused, stared at the girl. They then stared back at each other and started laughing, as well. After a few minutes of laughter, and another few minutes of regaining their breath, the three of them settled down.

"Seriously, though, you can't just keep people out of the forest," the black-haired boy said. "Won't your parents get annoyed if they find out you're doing this?"

"They'd have to be alive to get annoyed," the pink-haired boy said.

"Oh... sorry."

"Don't be. They died when I was a baby, so I didn't even know them; there's no reason to get upset about it. I lived in an orphanage most of my life, but the kids never really liked me because of my hair, and 'cause I was born able to do magic. It was obvious that they didn't want me around, so I left, and I've been here, ever since."

"...I see..."

"Come live with us!" The blonde suddenly shouted.

"Huh?!" Both boys exclaimed.

"We live in a super big house! It's warm, cozy, filled with food, and all of the chairs have cupholders; it's awesome! It's definitely better than living in a stupid tree!"

"Um... are you sure we should be doing this?" The black-haired boy asked.

"Why not? This guy looks like he could use a friend, doesn't he?" That was indeed true. While the pink-haired boy acted tough, the truth of the matter was that no one in his life had shown him true kindness. He didn't know if this was what he was looking for, but he knew that he didn't want to lose it in any way, shape, or form.

"You know, I _do _have a pretty nice thing going on here," the pink-haired boy said, "but I might as well check out those cupholders for a bit."

"Yay!" The black-haired boy simply sighed.

"Besides, it wouldn't be right of me to upset a cute little lady like yourself."

"'Cute'...?" The girl blushed at this. When she did, the black-haired boy kicked the pink-haired boy in the rear.

"What the hell, man?!"

"My foot slipped," he deadpanned. "Sorry about that... by the way, what's your name?"

"...Huh. I guess we _did _forget to introduce ourselves. My name's Natsu!"

"I'm Zeref."

"And I'm Mavis!" The girl cheered.

* * *

_...Ah... so that's it..._ Natsu said while he cried. _That's how we all met... how we all... became friends. _Natsu's body then completely vanished from the Darkness of the Mind.

_...I'm glad he vanished when he did... _The original Natsu said. _He still hasn't matured enough to learn what's at the end of this..._

* * *

"You know, Mavis," Zeref started, "it's great that you want Natsu living with us, but are you sure Shagorra will be fine with it?"

"He let me take you in, didn't he?" Mavis asked. "Also, stop calling him 'Shagorra', already! You've been living with me for years! You've definitely earned the right to call him 'Dad', just like I do!" At that moment, the image froze and started to crack.

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great-**

**Auaurora: Yo Fox, I'm real happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but I have one of the greatest things to show these children of man! **

* * *

In a mysterious, volcanic region, a woman calmly approached a beast the world had long since forgotten: a Dragon.

"What do you want, Featherine?" The Dragon asked.

"It has been a while," she said.

"You know I don't allow visitors. Leave, at once."

"I'm not here on a social visit; if I was, I would have already brought out the scones and Darjeeling. I merely came to tell you that, for the span of a few minutes... Natsu regained his memories."

"..."

"This will surely not go unnoticed. Very soon, the two who had vanished will return. Not only that, but Tartaros will make its move in a quick span of time. With that, Shagorra shall surely follow."

"Leave."

"It would have been good if his memories had stayed, right? Everything about that child of man is odd, so I often have trouble deciding on what is best."

"Leave this place! Do not meddle more than you already have! Do you wish to anger the one and only Igneel?!"

"...Shut up, you overgrown lizard." When Featherine Augustus Aurora, the Witch of Theatergoing, Drama, and Spectating said that, something truly unimaginable happened: Igneel backed down. "Do not forget your role in this game, Igneel. Your part has basically ended, so if you get on my bad side, I won't hesitate to have you... retired, so to speak." Featherine then turned around and started to walk away.

"You... just who... _what _are you?" The Witch stopped, but still looked away.

"I go by many names. Featherine, Tooya, Ikuko, Ryukishi, Kubo, Urobuchi, FoxOnPie, but you... you can address me the same way countless others have." She then turned slightly towards the Dragon as a beam of light hit her face. "God."

* * *

**Fox: Well how's **_**that**_ **for a chapter! Bern got her ass kicked, Natsu found out how he became friends with Zeref and Mavis, and, most important of all, we now know that Shagorra is Mavis' father!**

**Pie: Holy chiz on a chisel.**

**Fox: ...I miss **_**iCarly**_**. **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! **


	75. Hidden tea party

**Fox: So, the other day, I finished reading **_**Revolutionary Girl Utena**_ **and... did I miss something? I heard that it was the shoujo version of **_**Evangelion**_**, but what I read was typical shoujo crap. How different is the anime from the manga? Anyway, on to the chapter. **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Something was poking him. Natsu was trying to sleep, and something was poking him. He tried to ignore it, but the poking was too consistent for him to do that. Eventually, he stopped trying to ignore it and woke up. When he did, he noticed three things: the one poking him was one of Featherine's hero cats, Zakuro Motoki's _Birth of a New Witch _was playing, and his location was completely different from the one he was just in.

Before Natsu lost consciousness, he was inside the mansion of Bernkastel's closed room, which, in turn, was inside of the Infinity Castle. Now, however, he was inside what appeared to be an elegant ballroom. What was even weirder was the people partying in the ballroom. There were the people from Fairy Tail, the Zentopia guys, Erika's group, and, for some reason, the Bloody Gulls, sans Bernkastel and Featherine.

"...What is going on here?" Natsu asked, standing up.

"Oh! You're awake!" A familiar voice said as the owner of it suddenly appeared in front of him.

"You're... Lambdadelta, right?"

"Yep! It's an honor to be in my presence, isn't it?!"

"...Sure... what happened, exactly?"

"Well, after Bern went to sleep when we finished 'sleeping together', the Infinity Castle fell apart. Your friends started looking for Lucy and found her falling out of the sky! Luckily, Gray was able to catch her; that'll sure earn him some points! When they were all hugging and stuff, I also thought I saw something weird in Lucy's eye, but I could've imagined it."

"? In her eye? What do you mean?"

"Eh, it's probably nothing. Or maybe it's foreshadowing; like anyone'd be able to figure it out. Anyway! Since everything was finished, we decided to celebrate the end of the game with a mega fantastic party!"

"...Weren't we just trying to kill each other a moment ago?"

"...And?"

"It seems rather odd that we can be all chummy like this."

"Not really. A bunch of this merriment stems from the Odd Friendships already formed. The fairies who weren't fighting seemed to lose all animosity when we offered free food and beer, those Nazi-esque girls dropped the fighting when Erika started partying, and it just took us saying that 'L. Ron Hubbard is cool' once to get Zentopia off our backs."

"So just relax and have fun."

"...Alright, Chairman. ...Wait... Chairman?!" Natsu turned to see, for some reason, Absoliutus Teisingumas. "Why are _you _here?!"

"I was invited."

"But... shouldn't you be arresting these guys?"

"They're not bad people, Natsu-san."

"That's it?"

"Of course not, moron."

"! Then what _is_ the reason?"

"It wouldn't be very interesting to not give a Dark Guild full of such beautiful women a day to run away, wouldn't it?"

"And _I'm _the moron?!" The Chairman gave Natsu a blank stare. After a few seconds, Natsu sighed and went to go mingle with everyone else.

* * *

Over in one part of the ballroom, Erika Furudo was being stared down by the people from Zentopia.

"Are they mad at me, Dlanor?" She asked her friend who was stuffing herself with sweets while Gertrude and Cornelia stood by and Faule slept in a corner.

"Quite POSSIBLY," Dlanor said before going back to her sweets.

"Of course we're mad!" Earth Land Coco said. "You killed Dan-san, remember?!"

"...Now, I do," Erika said, pissing them off even more. "Look, I know that I chopped off your friend's head in cold blood."

"...And..."

"No, that's it. Just wanted to remind you of how I killed him." That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Zentopia people were ready to attack Erika. Knowing this, she quickly gave off a dramatic point and said, "Look, Xenu!" They all turned to try and see the fictitious creature, allowing Erika to escape with her group(except Faule, who still slept).

* * *

"So, Beatrice, just what are those weapons you talked about in our fight?" Erza asked.

"The Tokkyū Shinsei Buki?" Beatrice responded. "They're mystical weapons that are said to have existed since the dawn of time. Their maker is unknown, but everyone who has ever wielded just one has gone on to have incredible on the world. There are rumors of the Ten Commandments, Haru Glory's sword, being one, but those aren't true."

"Are they really so powerful that people would think the Ten Commandments is one?"

"Yes! They're the greatest weapons ever to be created! If one was to obtain all 19 of them, they could very well be the most powerful person in history!"

"Alright, then, I'll do that!"

"Huh?" Jellal asked, walking onto the scene.

"Huh?! You?! Collect all 19 Tokkyū Shinsei Buki?!" Beatrice asked. "Fat chance! Especially since _I'll _be the one doing that!"

"Really?" Battler asked, appearing next to Jellal from a swarm of golden butterflies.

"I have just as good a chance as you! I have the Spear of Longinus and the Nakagami armor, you have the Spear of Ascalon and that lightning thing! We're tied!"

"The 'lightning thing' is the the Gae Bulg. Not only that, but I actually have a third one, the Shield of Hephaestus."

"...You do?"

"Also, my teacher has two of her own: the Gungnir, and Thor's hammer, Mjölnir. Really, I have access to five."

"..." Erza turned away from Beatrice. "...I don't care."

"Awwww! What's wrong, Erzaaaaaaa?! Upset that I'm beating you?! 'Waaah! I'm Erza! I act tough, but I'm crying like a big baby because the super awesome Beatrice-sama is gonna beat me in getting the Tokkyū Shinsei Buki! Waaaaah!'"

"Stop crying, Erza!" Jellal said.

"That wasn't me!" Erza complained.

"Kuukukukuku! I love how that always works! Us having the same voice makes for buckets of fun!" Beatrice laughed while taking a puff from her kiseru.

"Two can play it that game! Battler!" The man turned slightly. "I'm... gonna... F**K YOUR FACE!"

"...Okay," Battler said, shocking nearly everyone who heard it.

"Epic Fail!" Beatrice sneered. After she did, Erza, in a fit of rage, tackled Beatrice to the ground. The two then started pulling each other's hair and ripping each other's clothes; the weird thing was that Erza's outfit was getting ripped, as well, but she was wearing her Heart Kreuz armor.

"Cat fight!" The Chairman yelled, appearing out of nowhere.

"If only there was mud!" Battler exclaimed.

"Way ahead of you!" The Chairman snapped his fingers and made a puddle of mud appear on the ground that the two girls soon rolled into, giving Jellal a serious nosebleed.

"I bet when you started puberty, all the girls called you 'fire crotch'!" Beatrice yelled, now the one on top.

"_You're _one to talk about hair!" Erza yelled, now the one on top. "You're a ginger blonde, so doesn't that make you a soulless bimbo?!"

"How _dare _you! I am _not _a bimbo!"

"No comment on the soul part, though?!"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Battler and the Chairman chanted.

"What?! Why would we-"

"If you insist," Beatrice said, giving Erza a passionate French kiss; this caused Jellal to pass out.

"What the...?! Why did you...?! Why would you...?!"

"Did I mention that I'm bi?"

"Aren't you married, though?!"

"My horndog of a husband is cool with it." Battler gave a thumbs up as blood trickled down his face. "Besides, you can't deny our Foe Yay, Erza. Plus, by the look of that blush, you certainly enjoyed it."

"Huh?!" Erza put a hand to her face and felt that it was indeed rather hot. The Titania was now confused as to what she should be feeling.

"It's almost as red as your pubes, 'fire crotch'." The confusion ended as she punched Beatrice in the face and they started to wrestle again.

* * *

"Can you please stop that, Wendy?" Meredy asked, sitting in a chair on account of being unable to walk. The action that she wanted Wendy to stop was crying.

"But... your legs!" Wendy cried. "Your robot legs got destroyed!"

"Again, sorry about that," Eva-Beatrice said. "I got way too into it, I guess."

"That doesn't really excuse it," Meredy said. "Besides, _I'm _the one who should be upset... for making you look at me in such a pitiful state..."

"It's alright, Meredy-chan," Wendy said, taking her friend's hands and causing her to blush. "No matter how pitiful you're made, I'll always be happy to be around you!"

"Wendy..."

"Hey, can't you just use that Endless Magic stuff to fix her legs?" Katja asked Eva-Beatrice.

"Huh?"

"I _could_... but I won't," Eva-Beatrice said.

"What?!"

"I mean, wouldn't this be the part where you get new legs that are even better than the old ones, Meredy?"

"That's completely-"

"True!" Wendy exclaimed. "The new ones can have rocket boosters, and shoot missiles, and fire laser beams, and even have cupholders!"

_Cupholders? _"...Well... if you think that would be good..."

"Yay!"

* * *

"You really can't do anything?" Lucy asked as she brought what was left of Michelle over to Virgilia.

"I'm sorry, child, but my magic is no longer strong enough to fix your sister," she said. "Battler and Beatrice, though, might be able to do something." The Witch of Finite motioned for the two of them to come over. Also, at this point in time, the cat fight had ended in a draw.

"Well?" Jude asked as the two of them examined the doll.

"...Sorry, no dice," Battler said while shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"Normally, Battler and I would be able to revive Michelle with our Endless Magic, but this is an exception," Beatrice said. "You see, a key aspect of Endless Magic is tricking the mind of the observer, but the one thing that can't be tricked in the mind of the observer is someone dying. As such, if an observer firmly believes that a person has been killed, then our magic can't be used for a revival."

"I see..." Lucy said, now with a sad expression.

"However..."

"!"

"There is _one _person who could do it. Her revival magic is stronger than both of ours, combined!"

"Really?! Where is she?!"

"Nowhere!" Battler yelled.

"Huh?"

"The girl Beato is talking about travels around a lot, is super hard to get ahold of, and I do _not _want her around!"

"Oh, come now, Battler," Beatrice said.

"You remember what happened last time she was here! She slipped Tylenol PM into my tea in order to rape me!"

_Rape?! _Lucy thought with a sweat drop.

"We stopped her, though," Beatrice said.

"Yeah, _after_ I was knocked out and she had me stripped down while chained to a bed!" Battler yelled.

_I think... I think I shouldn't bother them, right now... _Lucy thought.

* * *

The song _en-counse_, by xaxi was playing. In an inconspicuous part of the room, Natsu stood up against the wall next to the hero cat who woke him from his slumber.

"So, hero cat," Natsu started, "you wouldn't happen to know where Featherine and Bernkastel are, would you?" The cat shook its head. "You wouldn't happen to know what Bernkastel was going to tell me about my past, would you?" The hero cat shook its head. "...Was she actually going to tell me anything?" The hero cat was motionless for a few seconds, but then, it took out a pen and paper and began writing. After it finished, it handed the paper to Natsu so he could read.

"Frederica Bernkastel has some answers that you are looking for, but she does not have the right to tell you. It is against the rules of the game for anyone besides the Game Master to inform you of the past unless the Game Master allows it," is what the paper said.

"Heh. I'm guessing this 'Game Master' is Featherine." The hero cat nodded its head. "Great... in the end, she still leaves me feeling like an idiot. I don't know what kind of game I'm supposed to be playing, but I'm definitely losing..." When Natsu said that, the paper suddenly morphed into a box. It was the kind of box that a birthday present would be in. On a tag attached to the red bow were the words "A little hint bathed in an Aurora". Natsu immediately understanding who it was from, opened up the box to see what was inside. When he did, his face turned to one of utter shock.

"This... this is..."

* * *

The music that was audible had become xaxi's _Proud Dust_. In a tucked-away corner of the ballroom, Erika Furudo and the Eiserne Jungfrau(minus Faule) stood away from the crowd, her finger pressed against her ear.

"What a bunch of disgraces," Erika said. "Go karting with Bowser and whatnot; don't they have any pride? Especially the stupid Chairman; he's not even having them arrested!"

_Did you manage to get photos of this?_ This voice came from an earpiece that Erika was wearing. The voice belonged to the man known as Guran Doma.

"No. My camera ended up 'conveniently' broken. The idiot's on to us trying to get rid of him. Why isn't he doing anything, though?"

_Because he enjoys the idea of having to deal with traitors; finds it "interesting", no doubt._

"Probably doesn't even consider us a threat."

_And that is what shall be his downfall. I wasn't put in charge of the Scheherazade Division for nothing. One day soon, I will create a plan that will put _me _in charge, and Absoliutus Teisingumas shall be no more!_

"GOOD!" Erika said in Gratuitous English. "And, as both the detective _and _your loving granddaughter, I am more than happy to assist you. With us working together, failure is not an option! Simply by noting our intelligence, this level of reasoning is possible for Erika Furudo! What do you think... everyone?!"

* * *

Hours had gone by. It was now the morning of the next day. The music playing on the Virtual Soundtrack was zts' _terminal_entrance_. In her house, dressed in a school swimsuit, was Fuyu Navidades. Why was she dressed like that, you ask? She was hungry, so she decided to eat a tub of water, but she didn't want to get her clothes wet. Besides, you're enjoying it, aren't you? ...Anyway, she had just gotten out of the bathroom, her meal finished, when her Communications Lacrima beeped. Curious, she touched it and saw that she had received a message from Natsu.

"Na-Na-Na Natsu-kun?!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe he sent me an e-mail! This genius has never gotten one from him before! I wonder what it is!" She quickly opened the message. It had the following written in it:

"To Fuyu,

As you might have heard, my guild was recently fighting the Witches of Bloody Gulls. For whatever reason, one member, Featherine Augustus Aurora, seems to know a lot about my past... and the world, in general. I don't know why she does, and I also don't know why she did what she just did. What she just did is an incredible thing. She... gave me a Dragon Note. Like the one we listened to in the fall. There's no number on it, and it's stained with blood, so I think that this is the last one... and the recorder died while making it. I've already listened to it, had Wendy and Gajeel listen to it, and sent it to Sting and Rogue by re-recording it and turning it into an mp3 that could be sent in the form of an attachment. You can find it at the bottom of this message... please listen to it.

Natsu."

Fuyu couldn't believe what she just read. A million thoughts started flying through the genius' head, but she set them all aside for the task at hand: listening to the last Dragon Note. She immediately clicked on the attachment, and the voice from the previous one they listened to started to be heard.

"'IT'S OVEEEER! The Captain did it! The Captain killed the Dragon King~~! The war's finally over! Earth Land is no longer in danger! We can stop fighting! We can- ...what's the Captain doing? The Captain's... _eating_ the King? That's... disturbing. Why would the Captain... wait... now the Captain's attacking the Dragons! Not the enemy Dragons, the ones on _our _side! What are you doing, Captain?! Stop it before you lose yourself! Captain Acnologiaaaaaaaaaa!'" The message cut off there.

"...Whoa... In that Civil War... Acnologia fought for the Dragons that wanted to live with humanity...? But... based on this message, Acnologia would've had to have been human. But that would mean... that would mean... Dragon Slayers turn into Dragons...?!"

* * *

The scene changes to a room filled to the brim with books while xaxi's _le4-octobre_ played in the background. Two chairs could be seen. One was a swivel chair with its back turned towards us, blocking out the person sitting in it. The other was a regular chair, and in it sat Featherine Augustus Aurora. On the Witch's lap sat a black cat with a blue ribbon tied around her tail.

"I'm glad that you responded to my message," Featherine said, petting the cat. "What do you think of Natsu's performance?"

"...That child of man needs to try harder if he means to accomplish things, sir," the person said. Judging by the voice, it was a female. "Natsu made significant progress, but he still needs to go further to be able to grasp the truth, sir."

"I agree. That is why I called you here. In a few months, the Kingdom of Fiore will be holding a tournament known as the 'Grand Magic Games'. I would like you and your guild to enter said tournament and... take care of him."

"'Take care of him'? So then... I can kill him, sir?"

"If you feel it to be necessary. I trust you and only you with this..." The female then turned her chair around, causing the cat to start growling. The chair revealed the person to be a short, large-breasted girl with purple hair, violet eyes, and a pair of black or dark purple horns on her head (the left one is chipped slightly). Her outfit consisted of red hakama, a white haori, and a pair of long, pink furisode-like sleeves, "my dear disciple, Hainryun."

"Do not worry, sir. Natsu Dragneel has never faced an opponent like me; once we do battle, he'll learn that his way of doing things is worthless, sir! Auauauauauau!"

* * *

**And so, the Infinity Clock arc is finally over. The next arc is the Pergrande Kingdom arc, which will give Wendy full closure in regards to her backstory, and after that is the arc I just foreshadowed, the X785 Grand Magic Games arc. As you just saw, Hainryun(or Hanyuu, for the six people reading who actually know **_**Higurashi**_**) will be the Big Bad, but Featherine will be the Bigger Bad. Look forward to it, people! **

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! Also, please help out with the TvTropes pages; I can't do it all by myself, people!**


	76. Grande Crisis

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

It was now Friday, May 22nd., X785. A month had passed since Fairy Tail's confrontation with Bloody Gulls. With the Infinity Clock once again broken up, the Legion Corps were tasked with sealing the parts away so it could never be used again(though they _did _say that they'd have to unseal it if Xenu ever attacked. ...So it's never being unsealed). In regards to the "dark" guild, they managed to successfully escape the law thanks to the Chairman's ineptitude; he made up a reason for their escape to share with the public, but, in hindsight, the truth probably would've been better than him saying that the guild members knocked him out while the girls were giving him lap dances.

Things had mostly returned to normal at Fairy Tail, though there were some noticeable changes in the people. Erza, in her random quest to get all of the Tokkyū Shinsei Buki before Beatrice, had started going on more and more dungeon-related Jobs, and was often out of town for long periods of time. Gray and Gajeel, not at all satisfied with their performance during the whole adventure, started training themselves more and more to bring themselves to greater heights. Natsu, after everything that happened, became much more silent around the guild, and would often go off somewhere to be alone with his thoughts. That's a peculiar situation, but it's not what we're focusing on. Instead, we're focusing on Wendy Marvell.

After the Infinity Clock incident, Wendy decided to keep her hair short, and she also started to hang out with Katja more. The two of them were currently doing that in the guild hall alongside Meredy, who was able to walk again thanks to wooden legs that Gildarts made for her to use until he can get new ones from his limb guy.

"And that's how _Soul Eater _ended!" Wendy said.

"Sounds... disappointing," Meredy said, dryly. "Why did the chapter focus so much on boobs?"

"...I don't know."

"And what kind of antagonist was Asura, anyway?" Katja asked. "He literally did nothing the entire series! Medusa would've been a better final boss! Also, what the hell is with the sun and the moon?"

"Look, I don't pretend to _understand Soul Eater_, I just read it," Wendy said. "I'm gonna miss it, though; we had some good times together, that manga and I."

"Haven't you only been a fan for two years, though?" Meredy asked, remembering how long ago it was that Wendy had become an Otaku.

"Three, next week!" Wendy beamed. The beam, though, only lasted a few seconds, as she soon found herself projecting a rather blank expression for herself.

"I didn't know your birthday was next week, Wendy," Katja said. "You're going to be... 13, right?"

"Yeah..." Silently and without warning, Wendy stood up from the table and walked out of the guild.

"?"

"What was that about...?" Meredy asked with a worried look on her face.

* * *

Jellal was bathed in an odd bliss. Ever since Fairy Tail's confrontation with Bloody Gulls, Erza had been leaving town constantly to look for the Tokkyū Shinsei Buki, often leaving him all alone. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with his wife; she was just often a lot to handle, and a little break every now and then wasn't a bad thing. Plus, Erza had recently started trying some new techniques in bed, and his pelvis could only handle so much. At the moment, Jellal was playing a game of Solitaire in his apartment when a knock came to the door. Not wanting to leave his game, he used Bungee Gum to open it, revealing that the knocker was Wendy.

"Hello, Wendy," Jellal said with a smile. "I figured you'd be at the guild right now; what's up?"

"I... needed to talk to you..." Wendy said, hesitantly, as she walked through the doorway and sat down in a chair.

"Did you get kicked out of an anime forum for starting a flame war again?"

"That bitch had it coming, _defending_ 'Endless Eight', and whatnot!"

"Riiight..."

"...Anyway, that's not why I'm here."

"What's the reason, then?"

"...I'm turning 13 next Friday."

"That's right, I nearly forgot! I'll make sure to get you a big present!"

"...In my family, a child is officially made a member of the Marvell shrine at the age of 13."

"..." Jellal stopped his game of Solitaire. It wasn't that long ago that Wendy, in confidence, had told Jellal about her past life in Pergrande Kingdom, which she had never even told Carla about. He knew all about how Brain, in an attempt to get her into the Oracion Seis, had her father killed and manipulated her town in a way that resulted in her mother's death. Wendy had told him this once and once only, but after that, nothing in regards to it had ever been said, so for it to be brought up meant that this conversation was a completely serious one.

"...So... what are you saying, Wendy?" Jellal asked his surrogate daughter.

"I'm saying... that I want to go back to my country to rightfully inherit the shrine."

"...Is that really a good idea."

"...It probably isn't. There's probably still a good deal of hatred and resentment towards my mother for what the media said she did, and if anyone finds out I'm alive, it would cause a large amount of problems... but... I don't want to run from my home, any longer!"

"...Hmph." Jellal stood up and rubbed his hand on the small girl's head with a smirk. "Got it. Let's go to Pergrande."

* * *

It was now Wednesday, May 27th., X785, about 9:00 AM. In the Pergrande Kingdom's Yoshikawa Airport, a large airship made its descent to a terminal, allowing its passengers to exit peacefully after the long, eight hour flight from Fiore. Well, except for a girl dressed in a sleeveless black shirt with a funnel-like collar and white trousers that are black from the knee down and just a little short of being full length jeans, who was being dragged off the airship through a puddle of vomit by a white cat.

"Every time, you vomit!" Carla yelled. "None of the other Dragon Slayers vomit! Why is it only you, Wendy?!"

"Like I know!" Wendy yelled back, standing up and regaining some of her composure. "I told you I wanted to free run here!"

"We would've had to leave in March if we wanted to get here in time with that method! Also, why the hell the would we _free run _all the way here?!"

"You just don't understand, Carla. But I guess that's to be expected from an animal whose idea of a bath is a tongue."

"What was that?!"

"Settle down, you two."

"You're annoying the nameless people in the background who merely blink and react to things." The first voice came from Jellal, and the second voice came from Meredy. When Wendy decided to go to the Pergrande Kingdom, it was a given that Jellal and Carla would go with her, and she originally just planned on it being those two alone. However, Meredy overheard Wendy talking about it and, in classic tsundere fashion, begged to tag along, and after getting permission, said that she might as well kill time by doing it, since she had nothing going on at the moment.

"Sorry," Wendy apologized. "Hey, where are the others?"

"Over here!" A familiar voice called out. Exiting the terminal now were the last five people who decided to tag along: Katja, Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch, with Sting and Rogue carrying everyone's luggage. Katja had been invited because of the fast friendship that had been formed between her and Wendy. The Sabertooth mages had been invited after they wouldn't stop pestering Wendy about it when she mentioned the trip on _Magebook_.

"Are those bags too heavy, Sting-san, Rogue-san?" Katja asked.

"Maybe... but as men, we are contractually obligated to carry all of the females' luggage," Sting said, looking like he could collapse at any moment.

"That being said... why are we also carrying Jellal's stuff?" Rogue asked.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?" Jellal asked with a smirk.

"You're seven years older than us!"

"Can we please hurry along?" Wendy asked the group. "We've still gotta meet up with my helper in the city, and it's an hour walk!"

"We're walking?!" Sting and Rogue exclaimed while simultaneously collapsing.

"Of course! Cabs are expensive! Also... Carla won't let me ride in them because of the vomiting." The two boys groaned as they stood back up and the group started walking. "By the way, Meredy-chan, is that a new cape?"

"Huh?" was Meredy's response before looking at the object in question. It was the same as the cape she usually wore, but a white Fairy Tail blazon was largely displayed across it. "Yeah, it is. I got it tailored after the Infinity Clock stuff when I realized that I was using the same cape I was using in Grimoire Heart. It would've been bad if anyone saw the blazon on there."

"Yep!"

"...By the way, shouldn't you and Katja do something to hide your appearance? You said it'd be bad if anyone saw you, right?"

"You don't need to worry about me, Meredy-chan," Katja said. "When you really think about it, Wendy and I actually look very different."

"You do...?"

"Of course! My bangs point to the left, but Wendy's point to the right!"

"Huh?! That's... well, Wendy, at least, should do something."

"Way ahead of you, Meredy-chan!" Wendy exclaimed as she pulled out from nowhere a Colossal Titan mask and put in on her face.

"...Let's just go," Meredy said with a facepalm.

* * *

After an hour or so of walking, the group had arrived in the city of Ciudad de los Comienzos, and they were instantly overtaken in the sight. The city seemed be a mixture of a western metropolis and an eastern village; a very odd fusion, but it evidently worked. Everywhere you looked, people dressed in all sorts of stylish clothes walked through the streets, and the sidewalks were littered with food stands run by smiling faces and vending machines that distributed candy, soda, coffee, and cigarettes.

"This place is awesome!" Lector exclaimed.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch said.

"Yeah, it is a great place, isn't it..." Wendy said, her face giving off just the slightest bit of melancholy underneath her mask. Truly, she should be happy to be returning to her home country after so long, but when she remembered everything that forced her to leave, it was hard to be excited. Her mood shifted a little when she heard someone call out for a "Ritsu Tainaka", the code she and her helper had agreed would be used in order to meet without anyone noticing. Wendy found the owner of the voice and motioned for the owner to come over to them.

The person was a tall, attractive, and rather well-endowed young woman of around sixteen or seventeen. She had large, indigo eyes and long, black hair that was put into a ponytail She wore a pale yellow, sleeveless outfit with a skirt end that has a slit down the side with a bright yellow star emblazoned on the right side of the chest. She also wore a dark brown scarf and a tight dark brown stocking on her right leg starting just above the knee and white boots.

"You must be Wendy-ojōsama," the girl said with a smile and bow. "My name is Akebi Sotogawakyō, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Everyone found it very odd that she was unfazed by Wendy's mask.

"Likewise," Wendy replied. "These are my friends Carla, Lector, Frosch, Katja, Meredy-chan, and Jellal, who's like a father to me. Everyone, this is Akebi-san of the Sotogawakyō family. They've been running the shrine for the last nine years and have always been my family's most trusted helpers. As such, they were the only ones who Grandeeney told the truth about me being alive and have kept it a secret since."

"Your family was always good to ours, so it was the least we could do. Now, then," Akebi's hair turned into a kusarigama and wrapped up all of the luggage, a well-desired relief for Sting and Rogue, but also an annoyance, as she seemed to have no trouble carrying it all, "I have a car waiting for us a few blocks away. We'll use it to drive up to the shrine so you can all relax until Friday." Underneath the mask, Wendy started to display a happy expression. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

* * *

No one had checked their watches. There hadn't been an opportunity. They didn't know the exact time, but it was definitely before eleven o'clock. The incident played out like this: as the group walked towards the car that Akebi mentioned, a Magic Four-Wheel Vehicle built like a minivan approached them slowly. The slow speed itself didn't strike them as strange, and they paid it no mind. But soon, the van decelerated even more, and it came to a complete stop directly in front of them.

"What?" was Jellal's response. It was barely a split-second later that the sliding door of the Vehicle suddenly opened, and arms reached out from within the car and grabbed Katja's body, pulling her into the vehicle.

"Ah?!" By the time they'd realized that the cry had come from Katja, the moss-green Vehicle had accelerated away, its exhaust blasting into them as though they were being mocked, sliding doors still open, and disappeared into the distance. It took a few seconds for the event to register with everyone before they all realized the same thing: Katja had just been kidnapped.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Fox: I like **_**Sword Art Online**_ **now. That is all. ...Also! Please read the following omake, as it is entirely canonical. It takes place a little before the start of this chapter, and the title of it is "The Lilies that Bloom in the Sky". **

* * *

After falling at the hands of Frederica Bernkastel, Wendy Marvell was admitted to a nearby hospital by Doranbolt for recovery, though, oddly enough, it looked like she had already been healed to a certain degree. Wendy only had to be in there for about two days, yet, even after her release, she found herself often returning to that hospital, and today was no different. However, she wasn't going to the hospital for treatment; she was going to visit someone.

* * *

"And so _then _I told him, 'Polio medicine? Don't you mean more whiskey?'" At the end of the joke, the girl who Wendy told it to let loose adorable laughter. She was a small girl of about nine years with amaranth-colored hair who sat in a hospital bed with IVs and all sort of hospital things attached to her body. As the girl laughed, she suddenly went into a fit of hoarse coughing.

"Are you alright, Chelia-chan?" Wendy asked as she quickly handed her some water.

"I'm fine, onee-sama..." Chelia said as she drank the water. "It just hurts to laugh, sometimes."

"Oh..." The air suddenly got very tense, as the two girls were reminded of why Chelia was there.

Chelia had a terminal disease that has been destroying her muscle tissue for months. Medicine had been able to prolong the inevitable, but the doctors knew that the girl didn't have much longer to live. Wendy found out about this when they were roomed together at the hospital, so she decided to do whatever it took to make the little girl feel happy... before it all ended.

* * *

The following day, Wendy returned to the hospital to play with Chelia once more. She was gleefully walking towards her room when a group of doctors suddenly ran past her and into the room before her.

"Wh-What's going on?!" Wendy asked aloud.

"Little girl, you need to leave!" One of the doctors yelled. "This patient's gone into epileptic shock; we could lose her at any minute!"

"!"

* * *

Fortunately, they didn't lose her... barely. Wendy was forced to leave that day without seeing her friend. The next day, though, she was allowed to see her after her family had finished their visit. When Wendy walked into the room, Chelia looked incredibly pale, and her eyes were almost completely void of light.

"Hey, Chelia-chan," Wendy said with a smile that seemed forced.

"...Hi, onee-sama," Chelia said, barely turning her head and also projecting an artificial smile.

"So... how are you feeling?" Chelia turned her head away. _Right. Stupid question from a stupid girl._

"...Yesterday, my heart stopped for a bit. It wasn't long enough for me to be declared dead, but it's still a scary thing to think about. When my parents asked the doctor how long I had outside the room... I could still hear it. If I want to be optimistic, I still have a month... but, realistically... I'll be lucky to live a week..."

"...That..."

"..."

"That's not fair!"

"..."

"It's not fair that you have to go through this, Chelia-chan! There has to be something we can do; little girls aren't supposed to die!"

"..."

"I know, I know; this is reality, and these things _do _happen. Just because _I _cheated death once doesn't everyone can... but still..."

"...There is _one _thing that can be done."

"?! There is?!"

"Yes... do you know about God Slayers, onee-sama?"

"Sort of. My guild had a bad encounter with one back in December, but that was it. They're similar to Dragon Slayers, right?"

"Yes, but the main, crucial difference is that while the Dragons have vanished, all Gods are dead. This has been proven as fact."

"Huh?" Wendy replied, tilting her head as if she were a character in a Shaft anime. "But if all Gods are dead, how can there be God Slayers?"

"Apparently, before they were all killed, portions of their magic were sealed into special scrolls that can be transferred to people and make them God Slayers. Among these is the scroll of the sky God... and the doctors want me to take its power."

"?"

"The sky God was known to have incredible self-healing abilities. If I become a sky God Slayer, I'll be able to heal myself... and possibly restore my damaged tissue."

"That's great, Chelia-chan! You can get through this, then!"

"...But... I don't think... that I'll do it, onee-sama..."

"?! What?! Why?! If you become a sky God Slayer, you'll be able to live!"

"Maybe! They just found the scroll a few months ago, and it was completely sealed; that means that no one has ever been a sky God Slayer before, and the self-healing restoring my tissue is just a guess! Even if I do it, there's a good chance that it won't work, so there's no point in trying! I should just give up and die!"

"..."

"But... but..." Chelia then started crying. "Even if I say that... I don't want to die... I want to go home to my parents after school. I want to laugh with my cousin when she visits. I want... I want... I want to play with my onee-sama who's been so nice to me...!" Chelia completely broke out into tears. For a few minutes, all she did was sit there and cry, but her crying stopped when Wendy threw her into a sudden embrace. "Onee... sama...?"

"It'll be alright, Chelia-chan. If you just don't give up, it'll all work out. This may just be me trying to fight reality again, but this is the kind of fight you can win. You just have to believe in yourself. Not the you who believes in the me. Not the me who believes in the you. You have to believe in the you who believes in yourself!"

"Onee... sama..." Chelia then cried into her chest. Later that day, after Wendy had left, Chelia would tell the doctors that she wanted to undergo the God Slayer option.

* * *

It had been three days since that conversation. The second day in this passage of time was when Chelia was to become a sky God Slayer, but she hadn't heard anything. Now, she was sitting in the guild hall, nervously awaiting some sort of news.

"Wendy sure seems eaten up about that friend of hers," Carla said as she and numerous other Fairy Tail mages observed her.

"I know," Jellal said. "The poor girl's barely even been able to swoon when looking at all the muscular, shirtless men in _Free!_." At the mention of that anime, a good portion of the women got incredibly happy looks on their faces.

"Rmmm..." Wendy murmured to herself. "Chelia-chan said she talk to me when it was over, but I haven't heard anything..."

"Would you like to?" Wendy turned to the owner of voice and nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise.

"Ch-Ch-Chelia-chan?! How'd you get here?!"

"Seriously; there's, like, a hundred people here, and none of us saw you come in," Meredy said.

"I just wanted to come tell you the good news in person!" Chelia beamed.

"'Good news'?" Wendy parroted. "You... you mean... the magic worked?!"

"Yes..." Chelia then put Wendy in a tender embrace. "It's all because of you, onee-sama. You're the one who gave me the courage to believe in the me who believes in myself, and without that, I never would've been able to go through with this. Thank you..."

"Anything for my cute imouto!" The crowd observing the scene then let loose a merry cheer. The two broke their embrace in the midst of that.

"Onee-sama..."

"Yes?"

"Now that I'm a sky God Slayer, I can use magic similar to yours, so... can you train me, sometimes?"

"Sure!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!"

"And you'll help me to get as strong you?!"

"You bet!"

"And... when that happens... will you marry me?!"

"I'd be honored!" The guild went silent when that was said. "...Wait, what?" This was said by Wendy and a good portion of the rest of the guild.

"Yay!" Chelia glomped Wendy straight to the ground, causing Meredy to stumble in disbelief that such a thing was happening. "Thank you, onee-sama! You've made Chelia Blendy the happiest girl in the world!"

"Hold it! Hold it! I didn't know you were going to say that! ...Wait... 'Blendy'? Isn't that-" Wendy was cut off, however, by the table behind her suddenly turning alive and hitting her with a back drop. The doors to the guild then opened dramatically to reveal Sherry Blendy standing in the doorway.

"Stay away from my cousin, you little siren!" is what she yelled.

"'Cousin'?!" The guild exclaimed, unanimously.

"...Wait a minute..." Meredy started, turning towards Wendy, who had long since destroyed the table. "You've known Chelia for weeks. How did you not already know that?"

"I only read her nameplate once... but I never got to her last name," Wendy said.

"You stopped reading her full name halfway?"

"It wasn't my fault! Right before I got to it, _Free! _came on! All those guys are so muscular and handsome... and wet... I had to go the bathroom."

"_Go to the bathroom"? _Carla thought to herself. Three seconds later, she slammed her head against the wall when she figured out what that meant. ...Wanking.

"Come on, Chelia!" Sherry exclaimed, grabbing her cousin's arm. "I'm taking you home so you can forget about this!"

"I _won't _forget about this!" Chelia yelled. "I'm in love with Wendy-onee-sama, and nothing will change that!"

"You don't love her; you're just confused!"

"...Wow... homophobe, much?"

"I am not!"

"And it's not about what _you _think, it's about what _we _think!" Chelia got Sherry's arm off of her and ran back to Wendy. "Our LOVE is real!"

"Um..." Wendy started before Chelia started talking again.

"We're gonna get married one day and have 30 babies!"

"Thirty?!" Multiple people yelled.

"Yeah! Onee-sama will give birth to ten via donated sperm, I'll give birth to ten via donated sperm, and we'll adopt the last ten from third-world countries!" Chelia then started giving more and more details of her lesbian fantasy that a bunch of people tuned out.

"...Don't give me that look!" Wendy whispered to Carla, who was glaring at her. "As much I would love to marry an adorable loli like Chelia-chan, I'm just as against this as you are!"

"Really? 'Cause I didn't hear an _ounce _of sarcasm!" Carla whispered back.

"I'll straighten this out right now." Wendy turned her attention back to Chelia, who was nearing the end of her fantasy.

"...And, of course, the mansion will have an entire floor dedicated to onee-sama's passions!. The non-sexual ones, I mean."

_...An entire floor... full of anime and manga related stuff...?!_

"Hm? What is it, onee-sama?"

"...Where should we honeymoon?!"

"NO!" was exclaimed by most of the people.

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! Also, please help out with the TvTropes pages; I can't do it all by myself, people!**


	77. Clash of Passiones(Primo)

**Fox: An anonymous reviewer by the name of FoxOnCake(nice show of respect, by the way) asked me to do two stories: one for **_**Sword Art Online**_**, and one that's a highschool AU of **_**Fairy Tail**_**. Sorry, but I have no intention of doing either… is what I **_**originally **_**thought! Ideas for both stories have been popping up in my head for days, especially for the former, since I just finished watching the anime the other day! I won't start the **_**SAO **_**fic until I read the novels, but you can expect the highschool AU relatively soon!**

**...Since we're talking about stories, I feel obligated to tell you all, my faithful readers, that I start college next Wednesday. From the various stories I've read written by college students who write author's notes, college takes away a lot of your free time, so expect the frequency of these updates to decrease.**

**Pie: They've already gone down to one a week, though.**

**Fox: Quiet, you! **

* * *

**The following is a non-profit fanfic. Rave Master and Fairy Tail are all owned by Kodansha, Studio Deen, TBS, Tokyopop, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, TV Tokyo, Funimation, and Hiro Mashima. Everyone else is owned by their respective owners. Please support the official release. **

* * *

Last time, on _FTR_, with her 13th. birthday approaching, Wendy made the bold decision to return to the Pergrande Kingdom and inherit the Marvell family shrine. It initially seemed like an easy thing to do, but tragedy soon appeared in the form of Katja being kidnapped right out of the blue!

* * *

Inside the Vehicle, besides an unconscious Katja, were five men. One of these men wore a snow cap and sweater that showed off his midriff and had a gun holster at his right hip; his name was Guido Mista. Another was a tall man with long, white hair which is spiked at its ends, a dark purple overcoat with an open chest, dark pants with black shoes, and a belt with a silver "A" on the buckle; his name was Leone Abbachio. A third man had short, blonde, spiky hair and wore only a jacket with smooth holes over his torso; his name was Pannacotta Fugo. A fourth member of this group was the shortest one with short, black hair, a large headband, and a black shirt that only went from his nipples down; his name was Narancia Ghirga. Finally, the last person, who had just set the Vehicle on autopilot, was someone whom Wendy was very familiar with: Bruno Buccellati.

"Good work, everyone," Buccellati said to the others as he walked over to them and Katja. "The operation was a complete success. Now we can… …"

"Something wrong, Buccellati?" Mista asked.

"...Remind me, guys. _What_, exactly, was our objective?"

"Getting Wendy Marvell, which we did!" Narancia said with an "As a matter of fact" tone.

"Right, right… except that we didn't!" Buccellati yelled, slamming his fist into the side of the Vehicle.

"What?! What're you talkin' about?! This girl's Wendy Marvell! Just look at her!"

"All I'm seeing is a stranger, you idiot! Wendy Marvell's bangs point to the _right_, but this girl's bangs point to the _left_!"

"That's all you're going on?!" Fugo tsukkomied. It was at that moment that Katja started to regain consciousness.

"Crap! Abbachio, knock her out again!" And knock her out is what Abbachio did… by hitting her in the head with a bat.

"That would've been easier to do if we had chloroform," Abbachio remarked. "Too bad _someone_ forgot it."

"I said I was sorry!" Narancia yelled. Just then, the entire Vehicle shook as if something had hit it. Not liking that, Buccellati went back to the driver's to see what was happening through the rearview mirrors. He was not happy about what he saw.

"What is it?" Fugo asked.

"We've got trouble," Buccellati said. "It's those people Wendy was supposed to be with. There's a car carrying the cats, the guy with the tattoo, Akebi Sotogawakyō, and the Dragon Slayer boys. Actually running in front of the car, though, is that kid with that Colossal Titan mask. …! That must be Wendy! Mista!"

"Got it!" Mista shouted. He put a hand on the ceiling of the car and caused it to open up, allowing him get his body outside as he pulled out his gun.

"...Just go for the legs, or something. We need her alive, right now." Mista had no verbal reply. The only thing that acknowledged him hearing Buccellati was him firing his gun towards Wendy's legs.

* * *

Immediately after Katja was kidnapped, Wendy started running after the van at super speed. While she didn't actually possess magic that would give her the ability, she could manipulate the oxygen molecules around her so that they wouldn't collide with her as much and greatly decrease air friction. The others, though, when Wendy had left their field of vision, decided to follow them in Akebi's car, warranting a dual groan from Sting and Rogue, as that would make them useless. Regardless, they all got into the car.

After a minute of driving(Akebi at the wheel), they had caught up to Wendy, still running incredibly fast, and were right behind her when Mista's body came out of the top and pointed a gun at Wendy.

"Look out!" Meredy shouted as Mista fired at Wendy. The warning was probably unnecessary, however, as Wendy was able to easily jump to the left and avoid the bullet. The fired projectile soared past Wendy… and bounced off the air towards Wendy.

"Tenryū no Kagidzume!" Wendy shouted, destroying the bullet with wind generated from her leg and continuing her run.

"Tch! Not bad…" Mista remarked, "but not good enough to take down my Sex Pistols!" Mista then fired five more bullets that all bounced around the air, with Wendy barely able to dodge. Mista's magic, Sex Pistols, allowed him complete control of the bullets fired from his gun. With this, he could make the bullets ricochet off of objects(including the air, itself), and even have them stop moving, entirely. His favorite way of using Sex Pistols is getting a bullet stuck inside someone and having it bounce around until their organs are destroyed.

As Wendy continually dodged the bullets, it soon became evident that fatigue was starting to take over, as the bullets were now able to scrape her skin. Eventually, the five bullets all converged on Wendy's leg, the girl too tired to dodge. However, Wendy was saved when her body was suddenly flung into the side of a building, causing the bullets to miss.

"What?!" Mista exclaimed.

_What?_ Wendy thought to herself in regards to the random event. She soon got an answer, though, when she saw Meredy's Sensory Link on her wrist and saw a hurt-looking Meredy as the car passed her by.

_So that's it… Meredy-chan used Sensory Link to connect us to one another and probably had Jellal knock her into the side of the car so the same thing would happen to me…_

"Shit! I'm outta bullets!" Mista cursed. "Narancia!"

"On it!" Narancia shouted, jumping through the sunroof to stand on top of the Vehicle. About a second later, what appeared to be a toy airplane appeared in the air and started firing bullets at the tires of the car Jellal and co. were in. "VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA!" The four tires eventually all blew out, causing the Vehicle to skid to a stop. "Volare via!" The little plane fired a missile at them.

"Not today, punk!" Sting and Rogue, now cured of their motion sickness, both yelled as they punted the missile away and caused it to explode in the air away from them. When the explosion cleared, though, they saw that the minivan Vehicle was already gone.

"Tch!" was Jellal's response. Not seeing anything that could be done, they all got out and went back over to Wendy, asking if she was fine.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Wendy said. "But we don't have time to just stand around; we need to catch up to them and save Katja."

"How, though?" Akebi asked. "Our car's tires are popped, and we have no idea where they're going!"

"We can follow them on foot if we have to. As for where they're going…" Wendy walked a little away from the group and picked up the bullets that narrowly missed her, earlier, "Sting-kun, Rogue-kun, and I can use these to sniff out that gunner and find out where they are!"

"That's great, but can you take off the mask, already?" Carla asked.

"...No."

* * *

Several hours later, the sun having already set, the scene changes to an abandoned warehouse. Standing near the doorway were Mista, Narancia, Abbachio, and Fugo, all keeping watch of the place while Buccellati interrogated Katja. At the moment, they were having a casual conversation.

"Wait, so Kirito used Kayaba's admin powers to make Oberon a weakling and defeat him?" Mista asked with a quizzical expression.

"Yup, biggest Ass Pull ever, right?" Fugo responded. "The show really went downhill with that second arc, if you ask me."

"Funny. A friend of mine thinks the same thing," a female voice said.

"Well, it's hard not to think- huh?" Fugo and the rest of them turned to see Jellal, Meredy, Akebi, Sting, Rogue, Carla, Lector, and Frosch. "...That's not good."

"Understatement of the year, my friend," Jellal said, activating Meteor.

"Don't lose your cool, guys," Abbachio said. "Not counting the cats, they only outnumber us by one! ...Wait… shouldn't it be two? Where's Wen-" Abbachio was cut off by Jellal jamming his knee into his stomach.

* * *

**Several minutes later, inside the warehouse**

"I'm going to ask you again, girl. Where is Wendy Marvell?" Buccellati asked Katja, who was tied to a chair.

"I… I don't know!" Katja said. "She… she never came here! I was just… visiting the country with friends!"

"...Is that right?" Katja nervously nodded her head. "You know… I can tell whether or not someone is telling the truth. And, well… I'd say I'm almost never wrong. I can tell by looking at the skin on someone's face. It starts to glisten when someone sweats, right? I just analyze the extent of it… though I can get an even better idea if I taste the person's sweat."

_T… Taste?!_ As Katja contemplated this, Buccellati walked up to her and gave her cheek a big lick.

"This taste… is the taste of a liar!"

CRASH

At that moment, the window behind the two shattered, and through it jumped a little girl wearing a monstrous mask.

"...I had a feeling you would be here… Bruno Buccellati...

* * *

**Same time, outside the warehouse**

"There's no time for this!" Mista shouted. At that point in the fight, the two sides were more or less at a standstill, with both groups able to hold their own against the other.

"What do you mean by that?" Jellal asked.

"Right now, Wendy's probably going to Buccellati, but we can't let that happen! Not like this!"

"? Why?"

"Because! If they meet right now, with the way their hearts are… it'll end bad for the both of them!"

* * *

**Same time, inside the warehouse**

"She was a great person, my mother," the girl in the mask said to Buccellati, seemingly ignoring Katja. "When you tried to blame me for my father's death, she alone tried to protect me. You didn't give up, though, so you brought your whole gang with you to kill me, but instead, only she died. I was four years old. Although I didn't show it, I dedicated my life to seeking vengeance against you whenever we would next meet. Now that we are, all I wish to say to you is this:" the girl took off her mask and threw it aside, "Hello. My name is Wendy Marvell. You killed my mother. Prepare to die."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Make sure you remember to review, as well; good feedback makes for a great story! Also, please help out with the TvTropes pages; I can't do it all by myself, people!**


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